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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27337213">For the Unforseeable Future</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxwinterschildxx/pseuds/xxwinterschildxx'>xxwinterschildxx</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars, The Mandalorian (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adventure &amp; Romance, Awkward Romance, Baby Yoda Finds a Mom, Din Djarin Needs a Hug, F/M, Force-Sensitive Original Character(s), Not Ahsoka but a Togruta anyway, OC Doesn't Know About the Force, Slow Burn, Soft Mando, Togruta Culture &amp; Traditions (Star Wars), season one, season two</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:00:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>172,313</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27337213</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxwinterschildxx/pseuds/xxwinterschildxx</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"I guess you're stuck with me," she mumbled softly.<br/>He wished she could see his smile. He wondered if she could hear it through his modulator, as he looked at her, and then the smiling Child at their feet. </p><p>“For how long?" he wondered, whispering with her. "For the unforeseeable future?"<br/>Her laugh rang in his ears like a lovely melody. </p><p>"Yes," she agreed, grinning up at him. "For the unforeseeable future."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Din Djarin/Original Female Character(s), The Mandalorian/Original Female Characters</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>98</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Move Along</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She heard him before she saw him; the clanking of his heavy boots against the mud. She turned her ear towards the door and when she heard the common area briefly silence, she turned her head slightly, watching him walk past and to the table across from her. Behind him--she almost missed it--a small, green being, waddling to catch up. As he looked up at her, she noticed his massive black eyes and just how long those ears of his were. She offered him a small smile and waved two fingers at him, to which he responded with a three fingered wave.</p><p>When gloved hands reached down to scoop him from the floor, she returned to writing in her notebook. Slyly, with her peripherals, she watched the Mandalorian set the child on top of a barrel stool. He sat, too, facing very noticeably toward her. She elected to ignore him for the time being. </p><p>“V, you good over there?” A voice called to her. The owner of the common place.</p><p>She could never really remember her name, despite the few years she had been running trade routes on Sorgan, but she nodded, giving a thumbs-up. “Great, thank you.”</p><p>The owner continued past her and onto the Mandalorian. She spoke with him very briefly, which wasn’t odd, considering he was, after all, a Mandalorian. She returned swiftly with a bowl of bone broth for the child and nothing for the Mandalorian.</p><p>As a sudden rush of panic hit her in fleeting waves, her eyes peaked more noticeably over the edge of her notebook. The Mandalorian’s head was turned away from the child, who had been trusted to feed himself all alone, and stuck the spoon too far down his throat.</p><p>“Cute kid,” she called across the way. The Mandalorian froze for a brief moment before his helmet turned to her. She closed the notebook, a finger stuck between the pages to hold her spot, and pointed the book at the child. “Too bad he’s about to choke on that spoon and kill himself."</p><p>The Mandalorian took action fast. He stuck two fingers into the childs mouth, digging out the spoon, while his other patted around the child--his head, his ears, his stomach--ensuring its safety in the other areas. All the while, the child cooed and giggled, tickled by the abrupt hands feeling him. The child reached for the spoon again, but the Mandalorian set it out of reach, and placed the bowl of soup in his hands instead. </p><p>She could feel the embarrassment radiating off of the Mandalorian, despite how far he sat from her. As an afterthought, she noted, "He is quite little to be trusted to feed himself."</p><p>“Look, I’m not interested in your opinion,” snapped the Mandalorian.</p><p>Her face fell immediately. She felt the crease in her brow at the same time she felt her shoulders start to drop. Sliding her feet down from their position on the table, she muttered, "Good way to thank someone for making sure your kid didn't die," and grabbed her bag, deciding to start early on her way to the village. </p><p>The Mandalorian's sigh was audible. As she went to walk past him, he extended a hand out to her, causing her to stop by his table. His helmet raised to look at her. "I'm sorry," he said, sincere. "I didn't mean any offense. I'm just...new to this.” He turned slightly to the child.</p><p>She stared back into the darkness of his visor. Her eyes squinted. She let herself relax, allow herself to breathe, and she searched what feelings of his she could reach. Embarrassment. Anxiety. A twinge of fear, not of her, but for something. The child, she assumed. Perhaps, himself. She felt nothing of malintent, corruption. And so, she stayed. </p><p>"Babysitting or your own?" she wondered softly. </p><p>The Mandalorian was quiet. “Unsure,” came his reply, moments after.</p><p>She had certainly heard odder things. She nodded. "I suppose I don't have to remind you to keep an eye on kids when they eat, now," she continued quietly. She reached out to the child, a finger, and he wrapped his soft hand around it. She smiled. "Some other guidelines include keeping them occupied, making sure they sleep well, are fed, then relieved..."</p><p>The child touched the beaded bracelet around her arm and started to tug on it, for which both she and the Mandalorian offered scolds that the child responded to. Although he let go of her bracelet, he still reached for it as she brought her arm back to her side. </p><p>"I would say speak to him so he has an idea of how to talk, but I know Mandalorians are soft spoken, so perhaps he'll be a little slow on that one," she said, offering a soft laugh. </p><p>“I try,” said the Mandalorian. Despite the voicebox's work to muffle his voice, she could hear his fatigue. </p><p>"That's all you can do, sometimes," she encouraged. She pointed to the seat beside the child and when he nodded his head, she pulled it out, sitting across from him. She dug out a coin from her pocket and set it on its side, rolling it towards the child. He slapped his hand down on it to stop it. While he was occupied trying to roll it back to her, she turned her attention to the Mandalorian once more. "He look like you?" she wondered, joking. </p><p>The Mandalorian stayed quiet, which she supposed she should have expected, but she didn’t mind. She had met a few Mandalorians in her time, though the ones she knew did not follow the helmet rule as strictly as the one in front of her seemed to. Where some people may have felt anxious not being able to read his face or his body language, she didn't. He opened up to her with his words, his honesty, despite how cryptic he was, and no amount of body language or facial expression could have told her his genuine struggle more than his words. He didn't ask for help, but he sure wasn't going to deny her from explaining a few tips. </p><p>"You boys on planet for a while or just stopping by?" she wondered. </p><p>“Unsure,” he said again. She pretended not to notice the slight way his helmet tilted to someone behind her.</p><p>She smiled. “Too bad. Would’ve loved to babysit the kid.”</p><p>His head straightened. "You do that often?”</p><p>“On the contrary. Not a lot of babies come through, that’s all,” she told him. She heard a clink on the table and noticed the child had pushed the coin towards her. She let out a soft cheer, clapping her hands together, and causing the child to laugh. She demonstrated for him once more how to raise the coin on its side and pushed it gently over to him. He repeated it back to her, causing her to clap her hands again, and him to join her.</p><p>“You’re good with him,” said the Mandalorian. “It comes natural to you.”</p><p>"I've always liked caring for other things," she told him honestly. "Whether it be other children in my old community, plants, critters..."</p><p>The Mandalorian barely hesitated to ask. "Your community on Shili?" </p><p>Subconsciously, a hand fell to the end of one of her montrals. Two of them fell a bit below her chest, and the other halfway down her back. She didn't bother to hide the subtle surprise on her face when he mentioned the planet, traditionally associated with her race. It had been a long, long time since someone recognized her as a Togruta, and hadn't mistaken her for a Twi'lek, let alone know much about her race. </p><p>“Kiros, actually,” she corrected. </p><p>The Mandalorian's helmet tilted. She imagined he was surprised. “I thought Kiros had no Togruta population after the Clone Wars.”</p><p>“Some of us returned there after being freed from slavery,” she said. She was quiet for a moment, tugging slightly on her montral. A nervous habit, she supposed, but she could not seem to stop, even after she had noticed her actions. She hadn't spoken of her people, her experience for quite some time. It had never come up, given her limited contact with people in the last five or so years. Nor had anyone ever been interested enough to inquire further about her past. She wasn't sure why she was nervous to speak of it--not when slavery had been a reality for many races during the Clone Wars and the Galactic War. </p><p>“‘Us’?” he pried once more, breaking their silence.</p><p>She turned to him, not bothering to suppress her laugh at his obvious attempt for her age. "Tsk-tsk, Mando, you know it’s not nice to ask a lady her age,” she said.</p><p>“My apologies,” he said, though he didn’t sound apologetic, only amused. “You look very young, is all. I don’t know much about how Togrutas age. ”</p><p>"Thank you, I needed to hear that," she chuckled, smiling. “But you knew places where we are located, though, and that’s more than most I’ve met in a long while,” she noted. Curious, she tilted her head. “Got a lot of random information up in that helmet?”</p><p>“Been around the galaxy, is all,” he mentioned slyly.</p><p>She smiled, knowing the familiarity of that statement and how much it often held. “For work, I assume.”</p><p>He nodded once.</p><p>“I also have to assume you won’t tell me what your work is,” she said next.</p><p>He nodded again.</p><p>She sat back in her chair, nodding in agreement. “Too bad I can’t play secrets with you back. I don’t have much to hide.”</p><p>“You find that often in this part of the system?”</p><p>“Depends,” she said, noticing his changed tone of voice. She took a seat, directly across from him. “I might be able to tell you something, if you ask nicely.”</p><p>“For what in return?” he wondered, and she could almost hear the smirk in his voice.</p><p>“I’ll decide after you ask,” she played.</p><p>He was quiet. He looked at the kid, then at her. “The woman behind you.”</p><p>“Big, scary one?” she asked, without having to look. “Been hanging around here a week or so, I heard.”</p><p>“What’s her business here?”</p><p>“Hate to break it to you, but there really isn’t business on Sorgan,” she said. “You either farm, steal, trade, or serve here.”</p><p>The Mandalorian’s helmet tilted curiously. “She look like the type to farm?”</p><p>“You’re saying she looks out of place here,” She caught on. She didn’t tell him, but she disagreed. The woman certainly was an outsider, but she hadn’t been detected anything worth fearing in the short time she had been in proximity to her. The emotions floating from the woman were fear, anxiety. Nothing of much interest.</p><p>She looked to him quickly as her montrals sent a signal to her brain. “She’s on the move, if you’re trying to catch her.”</p><p>The Mandalorian tilted to his side, looking around where the Togruta’s figure had blocked her. He hesitated, she noticed, as if he wondered if she had purposely blocked the woman from his sight. But why would she also tell him he was on the move? He didn’t know much about Togruta strength, but he figured he could take her. He slipped coins from his pocket and tossed them at her, which she caught casually from the air, and stood quickly.</p><p>“For the information,” he muttered. He tossed another coin at her as he walked backwards. “Keep an eye on the kid.”</p><p>She looked at the kid, who looked back at her, and they both seemed to sigh at the same moment. She grabbed the kid, who had grabbed his bowl of soup close to his chest, and ducked through the opening of the common area.</p><p>She felt the vibrations of fighting through her montrals and she maneuvered quickly through the tents, stopping once she found the woman and the Mandalorian laid out on the grass, the woman on her belly, Mando on his back, but their blasters pointed at each other’s heads. Their fighting, already at a stand still, was prolonged more by the entrance of the Togruta and the baby, who was slurping his soup loudly.</p><p>“Another rule, Mando,” she sighed, her brow scrunched angrily. “Don’t leave your kid with strangers.”</p><p>“You look like that thing under the helmet?” asked the woman across from the Mandalorian, panting. She squinted. “How do you hide your ears?”</p><p>“You seemed trustworthy enough,” he said to the Togruta, then his helmet tilted back to the woman. “Care for some soup?”</p><p>“I suppose,” she said, and let her blaster fall from pointing at him.</p><p>She stood, and he was quick to stand as well, both of them tucking their blasters back into their holsters on their legs.</p><p>The Togruta watched them both, her eyes still squinted in anger at the Mandalorian. He stepped towards her, probably reaching for the child, but she turned her hip away from him.</p><p>“You almost let him choke, then you abandon him with a stranger. Are you sure I should give him back to you? He might live longer with me.”</p><p>“Didn’t take you as the mommy type,” said the woman, amused.</p><p>“What did you take me for?” asked the Togruta cheekily.</p><p>“Frail.”</p><p>She shrugged, not exactly disagreeing. It had been a long time since she’d seen action. Maybe she was going soft.</p><p>“Perhaps before we sit down we should know each other’s names,” suggested the Togruta. The Mandalorian clearly trusted her a smidge more than the woman, given he entrusted the baby to her, but she still remained cautious of both parties, as they were to her. “I’m Vena.”</p><p>“Mando, I assume,” said the woman, raising an eyebrow when he said noting. She sighed. “Cara. Can I get that soup now?”</p><p>They went back into the tent. Vena placed the kid back on the stool. She sat beside him, the Mandalorian across, and Cara pulled up another seat.</p><p>It was in close proximity to her that Vena noticed the marking on her face was a Rebel Alliance symbol. Her brow raised.</p><p>“Rebel Alliance all the way out here?” she questioned.</p><p>“Shock trooper, if I’m not mistaken,” said the Mandalorian.</p><p>Vena glanced at him, unsure of where he gathered that information. She wasn’t too privy on regions of the Rebel Alliance. She could only recognize their symbol.</p><p>“Saw most of my action mopping up after Endor,” said Cara. “Mostly ex-Imperial warlords. They wanted it fast and quiet. They’d send us in on the drop ships. No support, just us.”</p><p>“So clearly you can hold your own,” said Vena.</p><p>“Clearly,” smirked Cara. “When the Imps were gone, the politics started. We were peacekeepers, protecting delegates, suppressing riots. Not what I signed up for.”</p><p>Vena hadn’t been near the New Republic for a long while. She barely knew whether or not Sorgan was in the territory of it, much less believed in their laws reaching out beyond their Core System. She stopped keeping track of the New Republic long ago. What did any of it truly matter, when she had seen two wars in her lifetime? It was only a matter of time before the next...</p><p>“How’s you end up here?” asked the Mandalorian.</p><p>“Let’s call it an early retirement,” said Cara, taking a sip from her soup bowl. She cut straight to the point. “Look, I knew you were Guild, I figured you’d had a fob on me. That’s why I came at you so hard.”</p><p>“‘Guild’?” repeated Vena.</p><p>Cara and the Mandalorian turned to her. “Bounty Hunters Guild?” When she stayed quiet, Cara scoffed. “Where have you been hiding?”</p><p>“Here, mostly,” muttered Vena, shrinking in her seat. She glanced at the Mandalorian and the child. “A bounty hunter being a dad? Way to separate your work from home there, flyboy.”</p><p>“Have to agree,” said Cara, standing. She clasped her hands together and shook them at the pair. “As fun as this as been, unless you wanna go another round, one of us will have to move on, and I was here first.”</p><p>“Technically, I was here first,” said Vena, raising her eyebrow.</p><p>“Said yourself you have nothing to hide,” repeated the Mandalorian.</p><p>Vena squinted her eyes suspiciously  at his visor.</p><p>Cara raised an eyebrow. “Sure she does. What’s a Togruta doing away from homeworld? Thought they were very community based people.”</p><p>“Okay, nobody said we had to turn the lens to me,” said Vena, raising her hands in surrender.</p><p>Cara forced a smile at both of them and then turned, leaving the common area.</p><p>Vena supposed it was her cue to leave as well. She stood, pushing back her stool softly, then pushing it back in. She lingered, hands holding onto the edge of the stool. Her eyes fell down to the child.</p><p>“Are you sure you can handle him?” she asked quietly. Her voice was soft.</p><p>If it was anyone else, the Mandalorian would have taken offense. But there was something soothing about the woman beside him. The way she had held onto the child, how naturally she fell into care for him, in barely an hours worth of interaction, that Mando could not be upset by her question. She was genuine—that was it.</p><p>“I’ll remember your tips,” he told her; a promise.</p><p>She nodded. That would have to be enough, she assumed, as she had to get moving onto the village before nightfall. She bent down and gave the little green being a hug, to which he cooed and yelped, then she extended her hand to the Mandalorian.</p><p>“Thanks for the excitement today,” she said, chuckling. “Brought some action to my boring Sorgan life.”</p><p>“Where will you go?” he wondered before he could think. He surprised himself he even cared to ask.</p><p>“Oh, I have to run my trade route. I travel across Sorgan trading things through villages, trading messages, information, whatever,” she explained, almost excitedly. Her admiration for her small job was clear to him, yet foreign.</p><p>The Mandalorian nodded. “Farewell, Vena.”</p><p>Vena smiled and raised her hand to wave at both him and the child. She said goodbye to the woman at the counter, hoping next time she would remember her name, then she exited the tent.</p><p>Vena returned to her parked transport, a speeder with an attached trunk, crated in with a lock and key only Vena had. She jumped into the front seat, turned on the speeder, opened up her map, and set off to the next village on her trade route.</p><p>The last thing she did before her mind was set to her current objective was hope that the Mandalorian and the Child would be alright.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Proximity Alert</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was dark by the time she arrived to the village, the sun had gone, but even so, she was surprised to see that no villagers greeted her with a warm welcome upon her arrival. It was certainly unlike the villagers, or more so, the children, to miss her arrival. Nevertheless, Vena settled her old, dying speeder bike and grabbed her bag from underneath her seat. She checked the lock attaching the wagon to her speeder and pulled the protective cover over her trade material. As she started towards the village, her eyes squinted, peering through the darkness for the barn they typically reserved for her. </p><p>Vena pushed open the doors to the barn, saw her bed, and fell quickly to sleep. </p><p>The following morning, it was not the sun that woke her, but her own curiosity. The moment she heard the laughter of children from outside of the barn, Vena was up, ready, and pushing through the barn doors mere minutes later to see her friends. </p><p>But no one was waiting for her. She saw, across the village, the people flocking around another transport wagon. Her brow furrowed, Vena crossed her arms over her chest. She immediately began walking to see what the fuss was about. She was no more than twenty feet away when she was blinded briefly by a reflection; the sun hitting a patch of silver armor. Vena's arms fell, her hardened exterior dropped. </p><p>The Mandalorian's head lifted from his sight on the child when he heard another person approaching. She saw the way his helmet passed over her, then returned back. </p><p>Vena couldn't help but smirk. "Needed more childcare tips already?" </p><p>The Mandalorian passed through the small army of children to stand closer to her. His thumbs fell on his belt, relaxing himself. "I suppose farewell didn't last very long."</p><p>"No, it didn't," smiled Vena. She glanced back to the villagers, most of whom were helping unload the new transport, as well as Vena's. She waved at the few children who took their eyes away from the Mandalorian's child to notice her, before she looked back up at him. "What are you doing here, anyway?"</p><p>"Scaring off some raiders," he told her. "You didn't know?" </p><p>"Everyone was inside when I arrived," Vena sighed, now understanding why no one came to say hello to her. She held her hands over her heart, looking around at the village in the daylight, and noticing exactly what had happened. In the daylight, she could see the flattened grass of heavy boots crushing over the land, the blaster holes through some of the huts, the broken fishing nets, discarded trays by the water. Her face was worn with sympathy. </p><p>The Mandalorian watched her curiously, though she wouldn't be able to tell. He rarely met someone so open in their emotion, let alone so willing to speak up, to start conversation, to help. </p><p>No sooner than he had that thought, Vena turned to him, her brow strong with determination. </p><p>"Whatever I can do," she started strongly, but paused when she noticed Cara and Omera approaching. Omera embraced her in a short hug, though Vena kept her arm on Omera's, as she turned back to Cara and the Mandalorian. "Whatever I can do to help you both out, I will. Just say the word."</p><p>Cara nodded. "You know these people well, I take it."</p><p>"I'm the only trade runner on Sorgan. I have been for the last few years. The last one was killed by Raiders," said Vena, rushing through the fact quickly enough where neither Cara or Mando could comment. "I know these people, well, and I am sorry I couldn't have been here when it happened."</p><p>Omera placed a hand over Vena's, shaking her head. "We survived. That is all I could have asked for."</p><p>"Could you have?" interrupted the Mandalorian. </p><p>Vena turned to him, her face blank. </p><p>The Mandalorian's helmet suddenly felt hot with embarrassment as she looked at him, not entirely offended, but not amused, either. "Could you have helped?" he clarified. </p><p>"Yes," she said shortly, quickly, then her eyes fell to the ground where the child had run towards her. She scooped him from the ground and held him on her hip, giving him one of her sleek fingers to shake in greeting. "Hello, my dear, I do hope you remember me," she said quietly, shaking his hand. He seemed to, they both assumed, as his hands reached for her bracelet once more. </p><p>Vena raised her head to the Mandalorian. "Follow me, I'll show you where you can stay."</p><p>Omera took that as her cue to guide Cara to their extra quarters. </p><p>Vena set the child down as they started to walk. He pouted for mere moments before she started to shuffle quickly forward, then pause and wait for him to catch up. While he would run as fast as his two short legs would carry him, by the time he would reach her, she would be further than before. </p><p>The Mandalorian watched them interact curiously. He would never do that, at least, not now. Part of him envied how outwardly she could be free. Not free in any sense that he wasn't, but in the way that she cared nothing of how he watched her, how he could be judging her. And maybe he was. But she seemed to care nothing of him and all of the child, hearing the child laugh. He wondered if he could ever let himself go enough to feel the way she did, be outwardly expressive, and loose, for once. Watching her interact with the child brought thoughts into his head about what his actions would cause. Her words rang in his head like an annoying bell. Maybe he would be better off with someone else. Maybe his only purpose in the last weeks of his life was to rescue the child, not to harbor him. He wondered if he could be anything for that child. He wondered if he would ever see himself as a father...</p><p>Laughter from Vena intercepted the thoughts in his head. She had swung open the barn door and had enough time to hide behind it before the child caught up for her to peak out at him. When he laughed and was not at all scared by her, she swung him back up into her arms, and waited for the Mandalorian to enter the barn. She gestured to the wooded barn, trying to show it off in all of its mundane glory. He noticed the bed in the corner immediately, the sheets kicked back, and a bag--her bag--kicked underneath it.</p><p>"You are lodging here," he said abruptly, stopping in the doorway. "I--"</p><p>"I'll sleep elsewhere," offered Vena, waving her hand. "One of the villagers will let me crash on their floor. I don't mind. Besides, you have two, and I am one," she continued, gesturing to the baby in her arms.</p><p>She tossed him to her hip, then stood beside the barn door and pulled down on a string hanging from the window. As it opened, he grabbed the string from her, and tied it around the pole beside the window. </p><p>"You can see the whole village from here," Vena told him. She moved over as he stepped closer to see out the window. She pointed to the forest across the way. "I'm assuming the Raiders came from over in those trees, but in case not, you have full view of the land, the water, and those trees."</p><p>"Where will you be?" questioned the Mandalorian, again, before he could stop himself. He felt himself freeze, wondering why on Sorgan he would ask that question. He couldn't bear to look in Vena's direction, as he scraped his brain for a good answer to if she would ask why that would matter--</p><p>A knock sounded on the outside of the barn. Vena took a few steps backward to see through the doorway and busted into a fit of giggles. "Oh, no way," she laughed, placing a hand on the wooden crib that Omera was pushing inside of the barn. She waited for Omera to push it to the foot of the bed before she placed the child into it. Both women couldn't contain their cooing as the child stood to peak over the edge. </p><p>Omera, grinning, turned to the Mandalorian. "Forgive us. There hasn't been a baby in this village in a long time." </p><p>The Mandalorian only nodded. He said nothing, for a good moment, before he cleared his throat. "Thank you. This is very nice."</p><p>Vena rolled her eyes. She scooped her bag from the floor and tossed it over a shoulder. "Couldn't sound more enthusiastic if you tried, Mando," she laughed, patting the shoulder of his armor. </p><p>Omera followed closely behind Vena as she left. She tossed her bag outside of the barn, figuring she would find a home for it later, as it was now time to unload the rest of her trade. </p><p>"'Mando'?" Omera repeated, linking her arm with Vena's. Vena slowed her walk alongside the woman. "Is that his name? Do you know him?"</p><p>"No, no, he is a Mandalorian. That's his race. Or following, I suppose. Mandalorian's originate from Mandalore, but they all usually wear that nice armor, those big bucket helmets," Vena said, snickering with Omera. "They're a violent race. Violence is normal to them, their culture. He will do well to protect this village, Omera. Him and Cara both." </p><p>Omera sighed heavily, relief flooding her features and relaxing her shoulders. "It feels better hearing that from you."</p><p>Vena patted the woman's hand on her arm. "I'm glad you're all okay. I think I would've hunted down those Raiders myself if any of you were harmed." </p><p>"I'm sure you would have," laughed Omera, not believing in Vena's violent capabilities. She glanced behind her, at the barn, then leaned closer to Vena, as if the Mandalorian had super hearing. "Do they all keep their masks on?"</p><p>"Not sure about that one," said Vena, glancing behind them as well. "Do you think he has big, green ears like the Child?"</p><p>Omera giggled profusely at the thought of shoving those massive ears into the helmet, and so did Vena. Their giggles ceased as they returned to Vena's trade cart. She, Omera, and some of the other villagers started to divide up the supplies and carry them to the barn, to homes, while others loaded the villages packages onto the cart for shipment. They did not have as much product as usual, due to the raid, but Vena tried to assure them she would do what she could to make their village money. By the time Vena's cart was packed again and ready to go and all of the incoming trade had been distributed, dinner was called. </p><p>As the villagers huddled around the cauldron of cooking soup to talk, Vena found herself at the center of attention of the children, telling them her adventures from the last time she had seen them. They, of course, usually cared very little about what actually happened, and so, Vena exaggerated on her journeys. A deadly encounter with grinjer where Vena was the victor, a made-up story about how she got stuck in one of the various swamps on Sorgan, a nasty trade dispute where a game of Sabacc had to be played to settle it, which, obviously, Vena won. She told stories with exaggeration and excitement until they were finished eating, and it was only when the children left her, that she noticed the Mandalorian hadn't joined for dinner. </p><p>Vena, now wondering if the Mandalorian did ever remove his mask, stole an extra bowl of broth and a variation of bread and crackers for him to eat in solitude. As she started to make a bowl for the child too, Winta waddled up to her and asked if she could feed the Child. </p><p>"We can certainly go offer," said Vena, handing Winta the bowl. She called across the way for Omera, who decided to join them. </p><p>While Omera was nice enough to knock, Vena had skipped the pleasantries, the signal from her montrals enlightening her to the fact that the Mandalorian was still, and not doubting the fact that he noticed them coming. She walked right in with the tray of food and handed it to him, then set her hands on her hips as she looked around the barn for the baby. He was sitting in the crib, playing with the end of his shirt and making all the babbles he could muster. </p><p>"Thank you," said the Mandalorian to Vena. </p><p>Vena nodded. "Winta has a question for you," she said. </p><p>Winta's face absolutely flushed as the Mandalorian turned to the little girl. She took a single step closer to her mother, her trembling hands clutching onto the soup bowl. "Um, can I feed him?" asked Winta very quietly. When the Mandalorian didn't respond right away, she rushed out, "And then play?" </p><p>The Mandalorian seemed to realize he was speaking to a child. His voice softened, or he tried to make it softer, as he agreed. He turned to the crib and removed the Child. When his feet hit the floor, he started to run off, and Winta after him, to which the Mandalorian took a determined step after them. </p><p>Both Vena and Omera's hands fell out towards the Mandalorian, but it was Omera who told him they would be fine. </p><p>"I don't think--" </p><p>"They'll be okay," said Vena. </p><p>"I don't--"</p><p>"They will," said Vena, again. She stepped towards him, his gaze falling down to her as she looked up at him, her face entirely relaxed. "I trust Winta, you trust me."</p><p>"Do I?" said the Mandalorian flatly. </p><p>Vena winked. "Enough." </p><p>The Mandalorian responded nothing at all to her playfulness. Instead, he looked down at the tray in his hand. "The food. That's thoughtful of you."</p><p>"Someone has to keep you in check when you're dealing with a baby," said Vena, offering a smile. "Too many caretakers forget about themselves when caring for a child." </p><p>Omera nodded, her eyes glossing over with memories from her and Winta's past. "If I didn't have the village to help me with Winta, I would have never ate. Or slept," she admitted, chuckling. She noticed how the Mandalorian set down the bowl on the bedside table and returned to his unpacking. She glanced at Vena, who shrugged her shoulders. "We'll leave you to eat." </p><p>Omera turned to leave, but Vena stayed. She crossed her arms over her chest. "So, you're one of the Mandalorian's who keep their helmet on all the time, then?" she wondered. </p><p>"Vena," gasped Omera softly. Vena waved away her concern. </p><p>The Mandalorian turned. "I thought it was customary to ask for permission before you ask intrusive questions."</p><p>"Well, I did grow up in a slave camp, so forgive me if my manners are lacking," said Vena, a smirk lifting one side of her lips. Omera looked entirely embarrassed by Vena, but she remained silent, and interested. "I figure if you're going to follow me to this village, you must have intrigue about me, too, Mando."</p><p>"I didn't follow you," he stated instantly, too quickly for his own liking. His hands fell on his hips. "You said yourself there is nothing of intrigue to you."</p><p>Vena grinned. "I said I don't have much to hide. That's different."</p><p>"Is it?" he challenged. They failed to notice the way they stepped closer to each other, but Omera certainly did. "Dune isn't wrong. What is a Togruta doing away from her community?"</p><p>"What's a Mandalorian doing away from his clan?"</p><p>"How do you know so much about Mandalorian's but have never heard of a Bounty Hunters Guild?"</p><p>"How do you know so much about Togruta's?"</p><p>"I never claimed to."</p><p>"And I never claimed to know much of Mandalorian's," shot back Vena. Her eyes twinkled with flair. "Been around the galaxy, is all," she said, quoting his words from yesterday. </p><p>"But not in the last few years, apparently," he said immediately. "That's a big gap from your days in the camps to your time on Sorgan."</p><p>"Perceptive," she whispered at him, the smirk still on her lips. </p><p>The Mandalorian was taller than her, they already knew, but he seemed a world away as they stared at one another. She was not short for a member of her race, but she certainly did still have to look up to him. She could sense his irritation, his intrigue at her audacity, despite not being able to gauge how he looked in any sense. Vena remained unbothered by his genuine inquiries. She only meant to tease him. He was the most excitement she had in years. She couldn't be blamed for wanting to expand on his mystery. Maker knows he would be words away in mere weeks, perhaps days. </p><p>"I do keep the helmet on," he said quietly, to her. </p><p>Vena grinned. "Good to know," she stated, then turned around to leave. </p><p>"I thought," he said pointedly, irritation radiating off of him even more than before. She turned to listen to him, a grin on her face. "Give a little, get a little."</p><p>"Oh, of what? Information?" Vena wondered, raising her eyebrows. "You're a Mandalorian. A bounty hunter, at that. You're telling me I have to <em>tell</em> you things for you to know me? Must not be a very good bounty hunter, then." She winked at him, then continued away. </p><p>The Mandalorian's eyes were glued to her as he watched her go, followed her as she joined the children and his own foundling at a game of tag. He couldn't take his eyes from her. What had convinced him to tell her that piece of information? Given, it wasn't exactly as intrusive as he implied it was, but he wondered why he was inclined to tell her. He wondered if she knew that despite his surface irritation, he was not truly bothered by her enough to take action against her questions. People asked him questions without hesitation most of the time; he spent most of his life ignoring comments or questions about the armor, the mask. It occurred suddenly to him that she might have asked in such an abrupt way to peruse what questions he had about her-- she knew he had some. It was certainly a smart angle. Ask intrusively, raise irritability, keep it quick, and see what information comes out before there is time to think. He might have to use that one, especially since it worked on him.</p><p>Omera spoke, then, breaking him from his thought. "Vena means well, she does," she tried to say. "She's just a special girl." </p><p>"You know her well?" he wondered. </p><p>"Yes. Vena's been running trade on Sorgan for about five years now."</p><p>"What else do you know about her?" </p><p>"No more than you," said Omera, wringing her hands. "She has always been kind to us. Fair with the trade, good to her word. Good with the children, great. She's just..."</p><p>"Outward," noted the Mandalorian. </p><p>Omera laughed, but nodded. "That she is." </p><p> </p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Opting In</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Oh, no, you've gotten me!" cried Vena, throwing her hands up in the air, and collapsing onto her knees. She gasped and clutched at her lower back, the point where Winta had poked her, and cried out one last time, before falling over on her back in a dramatic defeat. </p><p>The children laughed and laughed, all of them pushing over each other to start to run and hide, as they knew Vena, and knew it was only a matter of seconds before she revived herself and would begin to chase after them. When Vena opened her eyes, however, it was not to revive herself. Her montrals sensed the vibrations of those familiar heavy footsteps walking towards her. She tilted her head back to see the Mandalorian approach her, his hands yet again on his belt, poised as though he was ready for business. She assumed he was. Or maybe he never stood in any other way. </p><p>He stepped beside her and extended a hand. She slipped her fingers across the palm of his gloved hand and he pulled her up easily from the dirt. As she brushed the dirt from her knees and shook out her loose, tan shirt to rid the dirt on her back, she noticed the children had vanished from the small clearing. </p><p>"You were right," he told her. She raised an eyebrow. "The Raiders did come from the trees. Cara and I were waiting until dark to follow their tracks."</p><p>"I assume you are both waiting for me, then," said Vena, glancing at where Cara was leaning against the barn, her arms crossed over her chest. She waved as Vena looked at her and Vena smiled happily back. </p><p>"You offered," said the Mandalorian shortly.</p><p>She chuckled, nodding in agreement. She held a finger up to him, asking him to wait one moment. Feeling the vibrations of the dirt underneath her feet and up through her montrals, she waited only a moment before sneaking lightly on her feet behind one of the nearby houses. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" she called. Vena tried not to giggle herself when she heard muffled laughter come from inside a stack of closed-top crates behind the house. She popped open the lid, seeing two children crammed into the crate together, and touched their heads gently. </p><p>"You guys aren't supposed to laugh! You are terrible hiders," she shamed, helping them both out of the crate. She looked back in it, making sure it was clear, before she closed it. When she turned back around, the children had vanished, but a new child appeared. The Mandalorian's child was at her feet, staring up at her with his mouth open. She sighed and picked him up. "You know, you aren't supposed to come out when you're called. That's the first rule of tag."</p><p>"I'm not sure he understands Basic," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>Vena looked at him, her brow together, wondering if that was his attempt at a joke. Nevertheless, she passed off the child to him, figuring as it was getting darker he would want to put him to bed. She paused when she noticed how awkwardly he held the child, his hands underneath the armpits, and flat to his chest. Vena wondered again if he was simply being humorous, but gathered quickly, as the child almost fell out of his arms, that was not the case. She reached out and laid a hand on a spot of the Mandalorian's arm, between his armor. He flinched at her touch, causing her to pause and look up at his visor. When he relaxed under her touch and moved his helmet away from her gaze, she moved his arm to cradle underneath the child's bottom. She pulled her hands back and waited for him to adjust to the new position. </p><p>"Um, why don't you go put him down for bed?" suggested Vena softly. </p><p>The Mandalorian paused, as if he wanted to ask her a question, but he didn't. She noticed the soft sigh in his shoulders before he walked towards the barn to follow her suggestion. </p><p>Vena stayed where she was. The forest they were going to commence the tracking through was on the opposite side of the village. She waved Cara over, figuring she would spend some time with her while the Mandalorian was busy with the child. Cara walked towards Vena to close the space between them.</p><p>"You gonna wear that?" asked Cara playfully. </p><p>Vena glanced at her clothing choice. She had little choice when it came to pants; options out on Sorgan were either blue or black in most cases. She supposed her shirt--a loosely fit cream colored shirt with puffy sleeves and a swooping neckline--was a bit questionable, but she shrugged. It flowed down past her waistline, enough to tuck into her pants or tie to fit closer around her body, if anything happened. She didn't expect to see any action tonight. She assumed they were only scoping. </p><p>"What would you prefer me in?" asked Vena, playfully seductive. </p><p>Cara's smirk dropped as her lips split in a moment of shock. Vena laughed, shaking her head. Cara laughed for a brief moment before the Mandalorian was heard returning and the women stifled their giggles. Both knew from their short time together that he would not even inquire as to what they were talking about. He was a short speaker, demanding, precise, it seemed. Vena wondered when the last time he smiled was, let alone laughed. Cara seemed to carry some of the same attributes the Mandalorian did, but at least she knew how to laugh. </p><p>"I suppose I can lead," offered Vena. She started to walk, Cara and the Mandalorian following behind her. </p><p>"Do you have a weapon?" wondered Cara. "I'm all for you leading, but maybe you should be carrying a weapon just in case."</p><p>"Yes, yes, I have my blaster at my speeder. We'll pass it before we enter the woods," assured Vena. </p><p>It didn't take too long to cross to the other side of the village. Vena told them to wait as she ran towards her speeder. Cara and the Mandalorian waited in silence, both of them watching her crank open the seat of her speeder bike and dig around her belongings for her blaster. They both didn't have to say it out loud for them to understand it had clearly been a long while since this Togruta's blaster had been used. </p><p>Though they were standing quite a ways away from her, they saw the brightness light up her face as she found a leather holster underneath the blaster. She gathered both in one hand and shoved the speeder seat down, suddenly remembering she had somewhere to be. She attached the holster to her thigh while she walked back to them, strapping the blaster into it safely. </p><p>Cara looked upon her warily. "Not a lot of crime on Sorgan?"</p><p>"I usually find my way out of things without violence," Vena said quickly, again, brushing over an answer of hers. She clapped her hands together, then pointed them towards the forest. "Alright. In we go." </p><p>Despite offering to lead, she had no idea of where to go, nor which group of Raiders they might encounter. Vena never went through enclosed spaces on her travel path around Sorgan. She learned to stick to open spaces, wide landscapes. It was easier to spot attackers when the land was vast, easier to outrun them. Her speeder was old, yes, but it was one of the only modern technology she had encountered on Sorgan. Sorgan was decades behind the Core--barely any droids or speeders, no New Republic supervision. Their reliance on farming, the wildlife, the nature was what kept her here. She had barely seen ships touch down on Sorgan since she arrived. It was a planet that minded nothing of the old ways, that kept to themselves. It was good for what she needed. </p><p>Vena was light on her feet compared to Cara and the Mandalorian. Her montrals were buzzing with signals of a proximity alert behind her, due to their heavy footsteps. Beyond that, neither of them seemed to avoid twigs or branches in their way, causing quiet snaps every few seconds. They were never going to sneak up on the Raiders, if that was their plan, but Vena said nothing. Some part of her assumed both of them would prefer an open fight as opposed to sneaking around. </p><p>"About fifteen or twenty of them came through here on foot," said the Mandalorian quietly. </p><p>Vena came to a stop. She turned slightly to see him, watching his visor tilted towards the dirt under their feet, and the way his fingers messed with a panel on his arm. He then looked up, at the trees above, causing Cara and Vena to follow his line of sight. </p><p>Vena's jaw fell. That was why there were so many scattered branches on the forest floor- something tall had broken through the trees, obliterating branches, and, she noticed, leaving a massive footprint in its destruction. Vena pointed at the sunken in dirt a little ways ahead when she noticed it. The Mandalorian stepped towards it, observing the large circular footprint. Vena followed behind him, almost on autopilot, drifting and drifting closer until she could see the footprint in the dirt for herself. When her eyes landed on it, she felt an immediate urge to run in the other direction. </p><p>It probably did not cross his mind that she knew exactly what it was before he said it: "AT-ST."</p><p>Cara's brow raised. "An Imperial Walker?" she asked, appalled. </p><p>The Mandalorian stood. "What's it doing here?" he asked the women in front of him. </p><p>"We should go," said Vena abruptly, looking behind them. She waited no time at all for them to agree. She started to walk back the way they came, remembering exactly the path they took, and not daring to stray from it. </p><p>None of them had to say much to know the news was not good, in any sense. The Empire had fallen, yes, but it didn't mean in any sense that traces of the Empire didn't remain. That was supposed to be a job for the Rebel Alliance, the New Republic, but when a planet was as conservative and historically behind as Sorgan was, there was no guarantee or hope in the galaxy that they would give any aid or effort to help these people. Vena wasn't stupid enough to think they would. </p><p>"You think it's Imps?" she heard Cara ask behind her. </p><p>"Not sure," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>"I don't," said Vena, turning her head so they could hear her voice. "Sorgan has nothing of import, of interest. There was no conflict here, I was told, no Empire, in the first place. It has to be Raiders who got their hands on an AT-ST. Where they got it from is the true question," she told them. </p><p>"The Raiders might have put Sorgan on the map," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>Though none of them said it, that train of thought made Sorgan a very dangerous place for all three of them to be. </p><p>Vena returned to the other pressing matter at hand. "We have to tell the villagers."</p><p>When they exited the forest, the adults of the village were waiting in the clearing at the center of the village. Their chatter quieted immediately when the three returned, but silenced upon seeing the blank look on Vena's face. She gestured for the Mandalorian and Cara to step onto the porch of a village house in order to address everyone. She didn't have words to say in the moment. She only felt nausea pooling in her stomach. </p><p>"Bad news," said the Mandalorian flatly. "You can't live here anymore."</p><p>If Vena felt better, she would have reprimanded him for his disregard. Instead, her eyes remained on the tops of her boots. She heard the villagers shocked reactions, their distain. </p><p>"Nice bedside manner," noted Cara sarcastically. </p><p>"Feel free to do better," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>Cara tried. She nudged the Mandalorian out of the way and addressed the panicked villagers with a lighter tone. "I know this isn't the news you wanted to hear, but there are no other options," she told them honestly. </p><p>"You took the job!" protested a villager. </p><p>"Yes," said Cara in an obvious tone. "Before we knew about the AT-ST." </p><p>Vena raised her head, clearing her throat. "Uh, AT-ST," she said, drawing the attention to her. "Big walker with two big guns." </p><p>When the villagers said nothing, Vena frowned. She explained to them because she knew no Imperial occupation took place on Sorgan, but judging from their non-reactions to her words...</p><p>"You knew," snapped Cara, her soft tone now understandably gone. </p><p>"You knew and said nothing?" asked Vena, appalled. She tried to look any of the villagers in the eye, but they refused to return her gaze. </p><p>It was Omera who spoke up, and quietly at that. "We have nowhere else to go."</p><p>"Sure you do. This is a big planet," said Cara, pointing her thumb in Vena’s direction. "Your girl does trade routes around the entire planet and you don't think she can find you a new home?" </p><p>The villagers broke out into protest once more, putting both Cara and Vena to silence. Vena listened half heartedly to them speak about why they can't leave, what the farm means to them, how long they had been on the farm. She didn't listen intently. There wasn't much variation when it came to reasoning behind wanting to stay in one's home. She tried to not hear them speak, when her mind connected their shouting to the same cry for resistance from her youth, her home world. She didn't need to be reminded of that now. She didn't need to think about that now. </p><p>Vena's hands raised to her face. She pressed her fingers flat on the sides of her nose, closing her eyes, and taking a deep breath. It had been years since she needed a reminder to breathe, but here she was, one AT-ST and a village lying deliberately to her later, needing a reminder on how to breathe and remain calm. She was going to be okay. Okay. </p><p>"Vena?" </p><p>She brought her hands away from her face, her head snapping to him, his voice. She hadn't heard her name come from his lips before, no matter how modulated it was. It sent a cold shiver down her spine. She didn't like the way his voice box uttered his name. It was too similar to...It reminded her of...</p><p>"Vena," Cara said, this time, waving a hand in front of her face. "Vena, you okay?" </p><p>"Uh, yeah," said Vena, turning back towards the villagers. She looked at their worried faces, their worry for her, and clutched her hands together. "Um... I just... I get it, you know," she addressed the villagers. "I know you all don't want to leave, I do, but we can't fight a walker. There is something much bigger behind that walker that we don't necessarily want to get into--"</p><p>"Vena, you scared off the last Raiders that threatened our village!" Caben called to her. The villagers chorused a small agreement. "We trust you, we trusted the Mandalorian and Cara Dune to help you do this again." </p><p>Cara turned to Vena. "You? Scaring off Raiders?"</p><p>Vena ignored her. She opened her mouth to speak again to the villagers, but Caben interrupted her. </p><p>"Three of you, at least twenty of us," he told her. He looked around at the villagers beside him, who nodded in agreement. </p><p>"Fighters," emphasized Vena softly. "You have to be realistic with yourselves. You are not Mandalorian, not..." she paused, remembering Cara's past. "Cara," she said carefully. "Not me."</p><p>Cara glanced at her thankfully. She turned to the villagers, once more trying to maintain transparency with them. "I've seen that thing take out entire companies of soldiers in a matter of minutes." </p><p>"We are not leaving," said Omera, unmoved, as many of the villagers were. </p><p>"You cannot fight that thing," said Vena. </p><p>"Unless we show them how."</p><p>Vena and Cara's heads snapped to the Mandalorian. He had remained generally unbothered the entire time since they discovered the AT-ST, so his abrupt suggestion shocked both women, who assumed he was going to drop the job. The village hushed after he spoke, their hope renewed and ignited with those simple words from him. </p><p>Vena could swore she could see through his visor at that moment. She could feel his eyes on her, with her, as her worried look became more neutral the more she looked into that helmet of his. She couldn't focus beyond her own calming measures to sense what he was feeling in that moment, but she was sure, if she could, she would sense some semblance of hope in him. Something changed in him from the moment he saw the AT-ST until just then that brought a chance of ridding the Raiders from their village. Vena had no clue what. But if the Mandalorian believed in their ability, Vena had to give them a chance, too. </p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Suspicious Activity</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>While the Mandalorian demanded they start training at first light the following morning, nothing actually occurred until after breakfast, much to his dismay. The capable villagers delegated the tasks of watching the children to some of the older members of the village, as well as some mundane tasks, before all of the villagers who could fight were gathered in the village center, their watchful and nervous eyes on Cara and the Mandalorian. </p><p>Vena stood off to the side, not quite the leader that Cara or the Mandalorian were donning themselves as, and not quite a learning villager. </p><p>"You've got two problems here: you've got the bandits and you've got the mech," introduced the Mandalorian. His hands fell to rest on his belt once more, the stance commanding their attention. "We'll handle the AT-ST, but you gotta protect us when they come out of the woods. I don't have to tell you how dangerous they are. " He paused and his helmet turned to the woman beside him. "Care Dune was a veteran. She was a drop soldier for the Rebellion, and she's going to lay out a plan for you, so listen carefully." </p><p>Cara stepped forward. "There's nothing on this planet that can damage the legs on this thing, so we're going to build a trap. We're going to need to dig real deep, right here--" She gestured to the pond beside her. "--so that when it steps in, it drops."</p><p>"The three of us will hit their camp," said the Mandalorian, and Vena watched his helmet turn towards her, acknowledging her, before he continued. "Provoke them. That will bring the fight out of the woods and down here to us. In the meantime, I'm going to need you to cut down trees and build barricades along these edges," he said, pointing towards the exit of the tree line. "I need them high enough so they can't get over and strong enough that it can't break through."</p><p>Vena raised her hand in the air to bring the attention to herself. "I can handle barricades."</p><p>"I've got combat," said Cara. </p><p>The Mandalorian sighed. "Alright. Who knows how to shoot?"</p><p>The tension in the air was thick, uncertain, and only more so when Omera remained the only villager to raise a hand. </p><p>"At least that's one you don't have to teach," commented Vena lightly. </p><p>While Vena oversaw the barricades and the building of the trap, Cara worked with the villagers and their sharpened tree branches on combat, while the Mandalorian brought his seemingly endless supply of blasters to shoot at targets on the other side of the village. Understanding that time was of the essence, as no one definitively knew when the Raiders would return, the village decided to give themselves a mere week to work. They would split the daylight between Cara and the Mandalorian, while Vena worked solely on barricades with the help of some of the older children and older villagers. </p><p>On the final day, a weeks worth of work, when the dinner bell rang, Vena shooed the helping hands of her villagers away to go eat. She promised she would catch up; she was in the midst of tying together thick branches for yet another barricade and didn't want to abandon her work when it was almost finished. She smiled slightly as she heard the villagers chatting excitedly about all they had learned today. Knowing her friends would inevitably talk her ear off about the content of their lessons today, Vena made a note to remind herself to remain interested. She would be, of course, she was thankful to the Mandalorian and Cara for choosing to help these people learn defensive strategies, thankful that the villagers had enough able bodied people to make a difference in defending their town.</p><p>But somewhere inside of her, remnants of her past had been whispering jealous remarks all week. These people were actively choosing to learn how to defend themselves; it was not forced on them. And that, to Vena, was another reminder of how different her life had been to theirs, despite how desperately she tried to feel as though fit in with them. Some part of the childish tendencies inside of her was jealous that the village had gone so many years without violence, without having to learn these things, but she knew, deep inside of her, that her tragedies would not have led her to the person she was today. She may not have lived a peaceful, quiet life, but she lived so and through it in order to lend her aid to the village now. That was all she could allow herself to think on the topic before it led her too far into a mental state she did not care to be in. </p><p>Stuck inside of the combating thoughts in her own head, Vena didn't sense the Mandalorian approach her. She looked over at him as he crossed into her peripheral vision, acknowledging him, before continuing to work. </p><p>"How was your day, Mando?" she wondered politely. </p><p>He was silent for a moment, as he tended to be, but he replied with a gruff, "Good," then added a later, "Thank you." </p><p>Vena couldn't hide the slight smile that took over her face. She was sure he felt awkward when she engaged in what was normal conversation to her. It was sad, to some degree, that he seemed so foreign to the concept of kindness, but his attempts at aiming to not be rude were rather humorous so far. </p><p>The Mandalorian said nothing else for a long while. He seemed to understand, without her saying anything, that she wanted to finish her work. So, he waited, patiently and quietly. She didn't ask anymore questions of him, allowing him the silence she assumed he wanted, and they fell into a comfortable silence as she worked. </p><p>When she was done, and yet another barricade was built, he offered his hand to her and helped her from the ground. She started to wipe off the dirt from her pants. </p><p>"Will you come with me?" he asked her. </p><p>Vena nodded, gesturing for him to lead the way. Normally, she would not trust in someone she only knew for two days to lead her somewhere, but the Mandalorian had obtained her trust. She could tell by the way he felt the first day they met, that he was a good man. He was probably brutal and aggressive in combat, and he had proven to be commanding and direct, but he was far from having an aura that felt the same way so many bad people had felt to Vena. If there was one thing she was good at it, it was sensing people, and she hadn't been wrong about the Mandalorian yet. Even though it was only two days into knowing him. </p><p>He led her to the makeshift target practice, a display of hung pots and pans riddled with scorch marks now from being shot at all day. </p><p>"You want to test me," she said, her tone flat.</p><p>He shrugged. "Can't blame me for wanting to make sure you have our backs." </p><p>"No, I suppose not," agreed Vena. She took her own blaster from her holster and held it, taking a deep breath, and reaching out to where the pans were being held. She pressed the trigger once. She heard the ping of her blaster hitting the target. She waited, looking at the Mandalorian from the corner of her eye, before she continued, hitting the one beside it, then the one beside that, and---</p><p>"Alright," he assured, raising a hand. </p><p>"You wanna see me do it with my eyes closed?" joked Vena, glancing up at him. </p><p>He sighed. "I meant no disrespect, V--"</p><p>"I didn't take offense," assured Vena, slipping her blaster back into its holster. "I understand. You don't know me. We're going into dangerous grounds here. We have to trust each others abilities." </p><p>"And you trust mine?" he asked quietly. </p><p>Vena nodded. "I trust a Mandalorian's passion for violence."</p><p>"You refer to that fact a lot."</p><p>"What, that you're a Mandalorian?" she asked. When he nodded, she continued, "It's all I have to go off of. You're not really giving me anything else here."</p><p>He watched her for a moment. She seemed to register his longing gaze on her and became uncomfortable, looking around them instead of keeping his eye. He observed her hands as they came together, bunching the bracelet on her left wrist between her fingers and allowing it to snap back against her skin. A very obvious nervous gesture, one that he couldn't tell if she knew she was doing or not. He knew not why she was nervous. He wanted to ask, but refrained from it. Instead, he decided to, for reasons unknown to his own logic, take some of the anxiety away from the forefront of her mind. </p><p>"I was a Foundling," he told her. </p><p>She turned back to him, her brow raised in confusion. "Meaning?"</p><p>"I'm not from Mandalore. I was rescued, as a child," he admitted to her. He could remember a time where such fact was secret. As the time grew from longer past the moment he became an orphan, it seemed easier to talk about. "My parents were killed. I was rescued by the Mandalorians and I swore to their Creed."</p><p>Her face fell from its confusion and into concern. "Oh, thank you," she mumbled, shaking her head. "Thank you for sharing that. I, uh, obviously I didn't just say that to get you to dive into your backstory, I just--"</p><p>"I know. It's alright," he said, silencing her. He glanced behind him to where the rest of the village was. "We should head back."</p><p>Vena nodded. They walked back together, though she was a few footsteps behind him, and ultimately silent. When they returned to the gathered villagers, Vena raised her head in time to see the nod of approval the Mandalorian sent to Cara. She pretended not to see it and instead asked the pair when they were going to initiate their plan. </p><p>"When they're done eating," said the Mandalorian. He looked in Vena's direction. "You should eat, too."</p><p>"No," she disagreed, her voice a pitch higher. "I'll just throw it back up."</p><p>Cara's eyes widened. "Uh..."</p><p>"I'll be fine," promised Vena, waving off her worry. Her hands rested on her hips, rocking back and forth on her feet as she looked around the village. "Just fine..." </p><p>Cara and the Mandalorian exchanged a glance. Cara didn't have to see his face to know he was also growing increasingly worried about their chances fighting off these Raiders. </p><p>When the villagers started to pour water over the fire, signaling the end of their meal, Vena excused herself from the pair. The Mandalorian turned to watch where she was leaving to, but Cara demanded his attention in reminding the villagers what to expect once the three of them left in only a matter of minutes. By the time they ran through the recap and the children were safely tucked away in a hut on the opposite end of the village, all that was left was waiting for Vena to return. </p><p>She returned in different attire than she was usually in. Where he had been used to seeing her in pants and a brightly colored flowing tunic, she now wore tight pants and an equally fitted dark shirt that ended at her biceps. She wore a dark hood around her head and shoulders that was clearly meant to cover her montrals. Her blaster was still on her thigh, but now it was accompanied by a curved dagger hooked onto the belt at the small of her back. </p><p>"Ready," she acknowledged when she was closer to the pair. </p><p>"You feel like leading again?" asked Cara. </p><p>Vena nodded. She first found Omera, who had been chosen as the village leader, to ensure she and the villagers were ready before they left. Omera embraced Vena in a quick hug. The women held each other tightly, both nervous for the upcoming confrontation, but as ready as they could be. Vena waved the Mandalorian and Cara over to her, beginning the trek away from the village and towards the trees. </p><p>The three of them were silent. Vena had told them to be more aware of their footsteps this time as they snuck through the woods with clear intent and not a simple investigation. Though her montrals were covered, Vena remained the ability of their proximity sensors. Where they did not sometimes work, she usually used what gift was inside of her to sense those of suspect around her. She decided long ago not to tap into that power during this confrontation with the Raiders. Despite a guess that the Raiders were just that and not in leagues with remnants of the Empire, Vena needed to be safer than sorry. It was, after all, a guess and not a genuine fact. </p><p>Vena held up her hand in a fist when she saw the campfire light through the trees ahead. She, Cara, and the Mandalorian fell to a crouching position behind the nearest cluster of trees. They waited a few moments for the Raiders to continue their conversation, ensuring the three of them were not spotted. There were two Raiders by the fire ahead of them, five or six tents, and another campfire on the other end of the camp with more Raiders, the Mandalorian noted, using the heat vision in his helmet. </p><p>"Klantoonians," scoffed Vena quietly. </p><p>"Cara, you with me?" asked the Mandalorian. </p><p>"With you," she muttered. </p><p>The two of them broke from their crouching position. Cara rounded the campfire to the opposite side, the Mandalorian waited, and when she was in close vicinity to the other Klantoonian, they struck at the same time, both of them opting for a chokehold. Vena stayed low as she approached them, her eyes, her ears, and her montrals on high alert for others as Cara and the Mandalorian dragged the bodies of the unconscious raiders behind the coverage of a nearby tent. </p><p>The Mandalorian scanned inside of each tent for heat signatures as Cara and Vena allowed him to lead. They needed a tent to lure the Raiders into slowly; it was too much of a risk to take them all at once. He raised a few fingers in the air, wanting them to follow him. He snuck alongside the tent, too close to the campire for Vena's liking, but signaled for the women to sneak around the edge and duck into the tent before he entered himself. </p><p>There was cover, that was the first thing Vena noted about the inside of the tent. Two vats of blue, steaming liquid were placed in the center of the tent. Various wooden crates were stacked alongside the edges of the tent. It wasn't much, but it was better than an open space. </p><p>The Mandalorian ignited a charge and set it at the backside of the tent. </p><p>Vena whipped her head quickly as she sensed incoming footsteps. Cara, noticing the alert on her face, whistled lowly, alerting the Mandalorian. </p><p>Ultimately, Vena didn't do very much fighting. Vena stayed standing behind the vats, her blaster aimed at the tent opening, but her eyes flashing between Cara and the Mandalorian in case they needed assistance. Cara and the Mandalorian took care of the first few Klantoonian's who wandered into the tent, keeping their takedowns quiet and quick, until one Klantoonian cried out a warning yell. Quickly, hoping to silence him, Cara grabbed him by the back of the head and shoved his head into the liquid vat in front of Vena. </p><p>Mere seconds after he went limp, Vena cried, "Blasters!" and fell to her knees behind the vat. With every missed blaster shot by the Raiders, the vat vibrated against her back. She held her blaster close to her chest, waiting for her montrals to alert her to a switch in position, a pause, something to where she could lean away from her cover and fire back. A hand on her thigh stopped her from focusing and she turned abruptly, her nose almost touching the Mandalorian's helmet. If she wasn't actively dodging fire, she would have leaned away from him, but the space was tight and she assumed he would also rather not be shot than be too close for comfort for a few minutes. </p><p>He pointed at a hole in the side of the tent made by blaster fire. </p><p>"Cara!" shouted Vena, looking around for her. </p><p>"She went through," he yelled back, grabbing her arm and pushing her in front of him, closer to the tent. "I'll cover you!"</p><p>Vena looked at the blinking red light across the tent. They had wasted too much time--it was going to blow soon, before he could cover her and make it out and then run for himself. She grabbed his hand and yanked him with her as she stood and took off running. She remained close to his body in the short distance they had to run, jerking his hand to miss the few shots that were close to hitting him. When they were out of the tent, he was alerted to a three-second warning of the bomb and he grabbed Vena around the waist and threw their bodies to the floor, covering her body with his own as the flames shot out from the explosion of the tent. He protected her body, but he could do nothing of her ears, which rang intensely immediately after the explosion went off. </p><p>Cara, too, had been thrown from the blast of the explosion. Still, she was beside them, an eyebrow raised suggestively at their position, but she was held back from making a comment when the three of them registered a distinct whirring noise of an AT-ST being powered on. </p><p>"Well, looks like the plan worked," she said, instead. </p><p>Vena was quick to start to wiggle underneath the Mandalorian's weight. He grabbed her hand as she tried to push him away and hauled her from the ground, pushing her into a sprint. Cara was in the lead and the Mandalorian behind her. Vena could have outran them, she knew, but she remained in the back to be closer to the AT-ST. Although she did not want to be, she knew the closer she was, the faster she could feel where the inevitable blasts were going to aim. She kept distance between her and the Mandalorian and he did the same with Cara, all three of them running fast but running separately to make themselves harder to shoot. It was already dark and they were much smaller than the AT-ST, but they were using as much to their advantage as possible. </p><p>The ground shook underneath their feet as the AT-ST took steps to catch up to them. She glanced behind her as she heard the AT-ST slow, already finding their running figures in the dark. She saw nothing of its body or its legs, she saw only the glowing red light of the cockpit in the darkness of the tall trees. She ran a bit faster. </p><p>Feeling its mechanisms start to whirr, Vena held her breath, waiting, feeling, and when she did, she yelled, "Veer left!" in time for the Mandalorian and Cara to abruptly run in that direction. When the blaster fire hit the dirt, the two whipped their heads back to Vena, assuredly wondering a million things in that moment, but Vena yelled for them to run in the other direction and they were too caught in wondering how she managed that and more on not being shot. </p><p>Vena started to remember the trees leading back into the village and whistled loudly, bringing Cara and Din back to her, and leading them in a shortcut to the village. They broke through the tree line with enough time now to cover themselves in the open distance from the trees to the barricades. The three of them slid through the opening and hurried to duck underneath the coverage of the tall grass and the barricades. </p><p>Omera tossed Vena a sniper through the air. She caught it and turned off the safety, crouching on one knee, and peaking around the corner of the barricade, the tip of her gun further than her body was. Her eye fell in line with the sight. </p><p>"This is it!" shouted Cara. Vena heard the hustle and bustle of the villagers readying their weapons at the tree line. "Once that thing steps into the pond, its going down!" </p><p>The village fell into absolute silence. They weren't silent for long before they could hear the creaking trees or feel the ground shaking underneath their feet with every step the AT-ST took. </p><p>"Weapons ready!" yelled Cara. </p><p>Its eyes were seen before its body; the red glow of the cockpit glass shined hauntingly through the trees before it stepped out of the dark in full glory, illuminated now by the dim moonlight. It took only a few steps then it hovered a foot over the pond, Vena inhaled a breath, but then it stopped. The AT-ST pulled its foot back and settled on the edge of the pond, still, as all of the villagers now were, too. Vena pulled back from her sniper to look worriedly at Cara and the Mandalorian. They hadn't exactly thought of a secondary plan, which, now, seemed rather naive of them.</p><p>"Get down, get down!" shouted Vena hurriedly.</p><p>The villagers ducked underneath the coverage of the barricades moments before a blinding, white light switched on from the top of the AT-ST. Vena and the Mandalorian were once again closer to each other than they planed to be as they hid behind the barricade. They were facing towards the AT-ST, their sides touching. Vena could feel the warmth still radiating from his armor, from where it had protected her from the explosion. She opened her mouth to inquire as to a second plan but when a single blast shot above their heads and exploded a hut behind them, she was forced to forget it.</p><p>Frightened cries rang out from the villagers, causing Omera, Cara, Vena, and the Mandalorian to begin hastily shouting variations of reminders to hold their positions. Vena hiked her sniper back up to her shoulder, scoping the tree line. </p><p>"What is it?" asked the Mandalorian. </p><p>"Incoming!" shouted Vena in return. </p><p>She started to fire into the trees, prompting a cry of, "Open fire!" from Cara, and the land in front of them was turned into an arrangement of red blasts going away from the village and towards the village, between the villagers shooting and the Klantoonian and AT-ST firing back. A good number of Klantoonian's dropped before they exited the trees, due to Vena, the Mandalorian, and Omera's precise aim, but it would not be enough. They needed to spread the attack along the barricade and avoid a concentrated rush. They needed to bring down the AT-ST. </p><p>"We have to get it to come forward!" yelled Vena. She ducked behind the barricade again, forcing Cara and Din to do the same to hold the conversation with her. </p><p>"Alright, new plan," muttered Cara, lowering her sniper and tossing it to Vena. </p><p>"What do you have in mind?" asked the Mandalorian. </p><p>Cara held out her hand for his pulse rifle. He hesitated, the attachment to his weapon real, but ultimately handed it across Vena and into Cara's hands. </p><p>"We'll cover you," said Vena. </p><p>Cara nodded. She inhaled a few quick breaths then threw herself past the barricade. The bright light of the AT-ST turned instantly toward her small figure to highlight her location, Vena stood up and shot multiple times at the cockpit of the AT-ST, gaining its attention back for a moment to shoot at her, for which the Mandalorian pulled her back down. When Vena leaned away from the barricade, she spotted Cara in the pond a few feet away from the AT-ST, now lost to its sight. It shot multiple rounds at the grass above her head, but Cara kept low, the heightened ground above the pond being sufficient coverage for the time being. </p><p>The barricades were only being used by the shooters, Vena noticed, when she saw Caben in front of the blockade, fighting a Raider by himself. Most of the villagers who had taken easier to physical combat were away from the barricades, being covered by those with blasters. They were fighting, she and the Mandalorian were shooting, Cara was trying, but it would not be enough. It would be worth nothing if they couldn't get the AT-ST down. And they weren't going to achieve that by shooting at it. </p><p>Vena glanced beside her at the Mandalorian, who was watching Cara and the AT-ST from the other side of the barricade they were sharing. He sensed her eyes on him and turned to look at her. </p><p>"He's not reacting to Cara," he said quickly. </p><p>"This is it, it's now or never!" she heard Omera shout. </p><p>And she wasn't wrong. The villagers had shown defense for their village, shown it was not going to be taken without a fight. The Klantoonian's would stop, or would have, with just that push back, but because they had an AT-ST in their arsenal, they hadn't. Vena knew if they pulled down the big guns, the Raiders would cease the fighting and leave the village. </p><p>Vena couldn't openly risk someone seeing. She knew she had to use it, before the AT-ST shot into the hut with the children, or before someone was killed. It was not worth it anymore to leave this village to chance when she could do something quickly and quietly about it. </p><p>"Mando, give me a grenade," she said quickly. </p><p>As his helmet flew downwards to his belt to grab one for her, Vena threw her hand out, forcing that dormant power inside of her out, feeling it run across the barricades, through the grass, through Cara. She attached onto a leg of the AT-ST and she ripped her hand back to her chest. A leg of the AT-ST jerked forward, Cara popped up as it happened and shot through one of the cockpit panels. It happened at the same time, it happened without the Mandalorian noticing, and it would cover her actions all the same. </p><p>When he turned back, the AT-ST had fallen into the pond. Vena dropped the sniper from her hands and snatched the grenade from his hand. She sprinted across the land, closer, until she could throw the grenade onto its hull. She heard it start to beep urgently, warning, and Vena jumped away from it, running to the pond where Cara was, and dove into the pond as the explosion occurred. When she resurfaced,  she heard the relieved cries of the villagers, and the retreating footsteps of the Raiders. She turned, finding Cara, and her relieved expression as she waded away from her coverage and closer to Vena. </p><p>Cara grabbed the scarf that was over Vena's head as it floated away from her. She tossed it playfully back at her, laughing as it hit Vena's face with a loud smack, and Vena returned the favor by splashing water back at Cara. They were quick to laugh, relieved, more than anything, that the AT-ST was taken care of. They had done it. </p><p>"Was that the plan?" </p><p>Cara and Vena ceased their laughter when they heard the Mandalorian's voice. Again, he was standing with his hands on his hips, business as usual, and an entire juxtiposition to the now celebration and lax attitude of the village. The thought sent Vena into a fit of laughter, causing Cara to splash water at her yet again. </p><p>Cara winked at him. "It worked, didn't it?" </p><p>He said nothing. Cara tossed his rifle up at him and swam towards the edge, hauling herself up and over simply. Vena must have had a curious expression on her face--or maybe one of jealously at Cara's obvious strength--because the Mandalorian offered her a hand when she swam closer. Chuckling, she accepted, and tried to help pull herself from the water. Her hands grabbed at her shirt, bunching it over the start of her pants, revealing the pale orange skin underneath her clothing as she tried to squeeze out the water from her shirt. The Mandalorian's eyes wandered to the exposed skin on her hips, but he noticed where his eyes fell quickly, and raised his helmet to her face. She hadn't noticed. </p><p>Cara, on the other hand, did. She wiggled her eyebrows at him, biting her lip to keep from grinning. "Alright, well, I'm going to see if I can't find some dry clothes," she said, trying as fast as she could to leave the two alone. </p><p>Vena barely said goodbye before Cara was hustling away. She turned to the Mandalorian, an amused look on her face. "She left quickly."</p><p>"Must not like being wet," said the Mandalorian, not skipping a beat. He noticed a dark mark on Vena's arm and pointed to it. "Is that from today?"</p><p>Vena wasn't originally looking at him, but when she did and saw his outstretched finger, she turned her arm away from him. "No, no," she said, adjusting her arm away from his vision. "Oh, uh, I meant to say thank you, by the way, for protecting me from the fire."</p><p>The Mandalorian noted her change of topic, but let it go. "Thanks for calling out shots."</p><p>Vena shrugged, a smile on her lips. She tapped the tip of one of her montrals. "They do come in handy sometimes," she said, her tone somewhat anxious. Her hand slid down her the side montral, pushing some of the excess water from them. </p><p>He watched her, enticed. He felt the urge to touch them, though he would never do it. He wasn't even sure if he would touch her montrals if she allowed him to, or asked. He just thought them to be beautiful. New, to his eyes. He had met many Twi'lek's in his time--he thought briefly Vena must be tired of hearing the comparison of their races--and been interested in their monotoned headpieces but Vena was the first Togrtua to cross his path, with that, she was such a contrast. She was so many colors. The pale orange of her skin was only covered with white markings on her face. The rest of her body remained the same tone of a dull orange, maybe from the distant sun of Sorgan. The markings on her face were scarce; upside down triangle shaped marks underneath her eyes, a thick white line crossing over her nose to connect them, and two thin lines starting from her forehead and ending where her eye began. Her markings were symmetric, as all Togruta's were, yet unique to her. He could guarantee no other Togruta had a face like hers... Nor her montrals, which were a base layer of a dark grey, dotted with various white lines that drew inwards starting at her ears and down to the end of her montrals. She was many different colors, and it only made her more interesting. </p><p>The Mandalorian felt compelled to ask her a lot of things. He had wanted to know some things pertaining to the mission at hand: how she sensed where the AT-ST was going to shoot, why she diverted topics away from her, how she scared off the last Raiders on her own. Wanting to demand an answer from her and know how at risk he was the longer he stayed around her was the reason he wanted to speak with her. But then she had saved him, in the tent. Risking her own life, putting the fate of their lives together to pull him from that explosion, that stayed in his mind. They didn't know each other. Even if she was right and he did trust her enough to watch the child, they were nothing of importance to each other beyond helping the villagers, and yet, she decided without a secondary thought that his life was as equivalent to her own. He knew from early on Vena was a nice, kind woman, but he had not expected much more from her, which she continued to disprove him on. And the Mandalorian wanted to know everything. </p><p>Vena wasn't bothered by him standing with her as she rung out the water from her clothes. A little odd, perhaps, considering he was truly just staring at her, unmoving. She wondered if he stayed beside her because of the village's celebration, their unity in that moment, and given that he only knew Vena and Cara, he wanted to remain by them. She would have never guessed that he was thinking of how beautiful her face pattern was, or her montrals, or that the man underneath that mask wanted to know every little thing about her. That was the furthest possibility from her mind, in that moment. </p><p>"Oh," she said, suddenly, pointing a finger at him. "Do you remember when you said you would repay me for the information I gave you on Cara?"</p><p>"Yes, I gave you credits," he remembered. </p><p>"No, no, I don't want your credits, I snuck those back into one of your bags," she said quickly, her face scrunched unhappily, as if he was wrong for giving her money. She continued, "I have decided that I want to have a drink with you."</p><p>The Mandalorian stared at her. </p><p>"Yes, and I knew I would get that response, so," she continued, clearly having thought this out already. "Why don't you go chug some spotchka in your barn all alone, I'll change, and by the time it hits you, I will probably be more drunk than you off of the same batch."</p><p>He continued to stare at her, although he did shift the way he was standing, which she took for an immediate agreement. While she cheered lightly and suggested they deserved drinks after the work they just did, he opened his mouth to protest, but decided on letting it go. If she did return the credits to him, he did owe her in some way for the information she exchanged with him. Though they both believed they were probably even, Vena wanted to see the Mandalorian relax a little bit, and the Mandalorian wanted to please her, in turn, since she seemed to be invested in his and the child's wellbeing. </p><p>"The child will be okay?" the Mandalorian wondered, beating himself up over the fact that, for a moment, he forget he even had a child. </p><p>"Yes. They'll be putting the children to bed soon, now that everything is okay, if you want to take him to the barn," Vena suggested. </p><p>The Mandalorian shook his head. "No, I...I think he'll be okay." </p><p>The smile on Vena's face was apparent and noticeable, although she tried to hide it from him. "Well, alright. You go grab some spotchka and I'll go change, Mandalorian," she grinned. </p><p>He only nodded at her in response, but, for the first time since he met her, he wished that she could see his smile, too. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Spotchka Talks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>To get to Omera's hut, where she had been staying, Vena had to pass through the crowd of happy villagers. Some were building a fire, some were dancing, some were putting together whatever booze they could find, but all were in a celebratory mood and clearly not going to bed any time soon. </p><p>She tried to breeze through the crowd, nodding at their praise and gratitude, forcing a smile, returning hugs, but Vena was becoming easily overwhelmed with the various hands on her, and soon enough, just ran from the crowd. She felt momentarily blinded by the sensory overload ringing throughout her head. Her feet carried her away from the noise and commotion, quickly, until she fell to her knees behind a hut, a wave of sudden exhaustion knocking her over. </p><p>Vena thought it must have been from what she did, or maybe the adrenaline from all their action was finally creeping up her neck and rattling her head. Vena had been the help in the village situation, but she was nowhere near the expertise that Cara or the Mandalorian were. She held in her panic throughout, yes, though the feeling of adrenaline and that rush of life or death shook her to her core, once she was distanced from it. She didn't know where she got it in her to run at the AT-ST. What had she been thinking? And using whatever power she had so recklessly? </p><p>Vena started to see each moment in the last hour in her mind, chastising herself, scolding herself, her closed eyes flashing backwards to relive every breath she took, every move she made until she noticed she suddenly couldn't breathe. Her hands flew to her chest, noticing the short, quick breaths she was taking, trying to focus on inhaling for longer amounts of time. </p><p>It was over. It didn't matter what she did. They survived. No one knew about her. It was over. it No more AT-ST. No more Raiders. And they were just that: Raiders, not the Empire. Not the Separatists--</p><p>She opened her eyes when she felt a touch on her legs. It was the Mandalorian's Child. He stood in front of her, his three fingered hands on her knees and his big, black eyes peering up into her own. She connected with his eyes, with the tilt of his head, and she felt warmth start to fill her body. She could feel the restrictedness of her chest lift as he touched her, and she placed her hands on top of his. As soon as she did, the warm spreading through her stopped, seemingly returning to the place where his hands were on her knees. </p><p>In that moment, that quiet, secluded, moment, Vena was able to recognize that he was not like anyone else she had met in her lifetime. She'd always had some strong connection to the world around her, a deep, intimate understanding of the universe, the land, the physical world. And while some of that was to do with Togruta culture, remnants of her youth teachings and her basic instinct, Vena often assumed her power belonged to the energy of the universe; energy she was lucky enough to be able to harness from time to time. She assumed the same about the way she could feel people's energy so clearly. </p><p>She read the Child in front of her clearly, still, as she felt the familiar childlike warmth and curiosity most children held, but there was something more to him. Familiar, not in the way he felt compared to others, but in a way as if they were old friends. As if they had met before, in a previous life, as if there was a connection to be discovered between them. </p><p>"You're something special, aren't you?" whispered Vena.</p><p>The Child had no idea what she said. He blinked, sleepily, then waddled away from her and toward the joy of the villagers. Vena stood to watch him return before she continued on to Omera's hut to change into dry clothes. </p><p>If she was in need of anything else besides dry clothes, it was booze. </p><p>Changed and much more comfortable fully clothed, Vena returned to find Cara and the Mandalorian sitting a little bit away from the rowdy villagers. They had their own small fire made, both of them sitting on the ground beside it, their backs against an overturned log. The Child was curled up in the remainder of the Mandalorian's cape as it rested on the floor, sleeping soundly. </p><p>Vena sat across from them, tucking her legs underneath her. She turned her head to watch the villagers dance joyously around their fire. A smile couldn't help but find its way to her lips at their pure elation.</p><p>"Are you much of a dancer, Ms. Dune?" wondered Vena, turning back to their separated fire. </p><p>Cara shook her head, raising the bottle in her hand and sloshing the liquid around. "I'm not there yet."</p><p>"Noted," Vena chuckled. </p><p>"How many spotchka's in are you?"</p><p>"None," said Vena. She caught the sealed bottle from Cara as she threw it to her and cracked it open, taking a small sip. She raised her eyebrow at the Mandalorian, whose helmet was in her direction. "Mando? How about you?"</p><p>"One, like we agreed," he stated flatly. </p><p>Cara was shocked. "Whoa, what?"</p><p>Vena laughed at Cara's disbelief. "I persuaded him to have a glass."</p><p>"Wow. So you know what has to happen now," said Cara, turning her head to the Mandalorian, her brow raised. "What happens if you take that thing off? Do they come after you and kill you?"</p><p>Vena couldn't help how fast her smile faded. While Cara was certainly trying to joke, she didn't understand the brutality of Mandalorian's. Killing him very well might have been an option, if he was in a Covert that deemed it so. </p><p>"No," said the Mandalorian, and Vena relaxed. "You just can't ever put it back on again."</p><p>Cara waited. "Oh. Is that it?" she asked, when he remained quiet. "Is that customary, then, as a Mandalorian? To keep the helmet on?"</p><p>"This is the way," he said. </p><p>"I don't believe that's true, though," said Vena softly, her eyes squinted. She looked at the Mandalorian, confused. "I've seen plenty of Mandalorian's without their helmets."</p><p>"They're wrong," he said abruptly, anger lacing his tone. "There is only one way: the way of the Mandalore."</p><p>Sensing his irritation on the subject, Vena nodded and decided to let it go. "Alright." </p><p>"You met a lot of Mandalorian's, then?" asked Cara, deciding the exact opposite of Vena. Her eyes glanced quickly to the Mandalorian beside her, wondering if he was going to continue to be irritable. They were only discussing the subject out of curiosity, not with any ill intent. Still, Cara was intrigued by his obvious show of emotion, when he had usually been so reserved.  </p><p>"Seen a lot with that armor," said Vena, also sparing a glance in his direction. "Though, I suppose this Mandalorian would agree that just because you have the armor, doesn't mean you're a Mandalorian."</p><p>When he said nothing, she nodded again.</p><p>"Where?"</p><p>Vena returned her gaze to him. "What?"</p><p>"Where did you meet other Mandalorian's?" he asked her. "Who didn't wear their helmets?"</p><p>"Uh, just around," she said, her face flushing. She was so off-put by his direct questioning, she didn't think to mention the planet she was on while encountering them, and instead, answered in a completely different context. "I, uh, used to get around."</p><p>"Oh, no," laughed Cara heartily. "Oh, no, I did not expect that from you, little Vena."</p><p>The Mandalorian remained still and silent. Almost more silent and still than before. He lowered his helmet to the floor, deliberately not looking at her now. Vena didn't bother to try sensing what he was feeling. She suddenly wanted a lot more spotchka to numb the embarrassment warming her entire body. </p><p>"I was young, needed to find some work to get from planet to planet," she said, feeling the need to defend herself to him. She looked at Cara, her brow scrunched together with unease, hoping the other woman would help shake the awkward moment. "There's only so many things you can sell with the knowledge of a former slave girl."</p><p>"It's an unfortunate reality, yes," agreed Cara. She waved her hand at Vena's sheepishness, easing her slightly. "A reality for many women across the galaxy. Don't sweat it. Right, Mando?"</p><p>Vena's face flushed a deeper orange all over again when Cara brought him back into the conversation. She chugged the remainder of her bottle, wishing she would soon be gone enough to not remember any of this tomorrow. </p><p>While Cara found the situation humorous, she decided to finally move on, still talking with Vena. "You had the dream, then? Seeing the stars, traveling?"</p><p>"I did," said Vena, hiking her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her kneecaps. "Last I heard, most of the free Togruta's returned to Shili or Kiros. I...couldn't return, to say the least," she muttered. She noted Cara's interested look, but didn't want to divulge quite yet. After all, they were still strangers. "When I was freed, I found passage and went wherever I could manage to. Saw the stars, met a lot of people, tried a lot of things."</p><p>"See anything you like?" </p><p>"Hyperspace," said Vena immediately, closing her eyes. She could see the stretch of the stars if she closed her eyes long enough, feel her body tug backwards with the pull that undoubtedly came with a jump to hyperspace. </p><p>"Why don't you get your own ship?" </p><p>Vena opened her eyes. The Mandalorian's helmet was on her, waiting for an answer. She glanced at Cara, who looked interested in his entrance into the conversation. </p><p>"Oh, I don't know," she mumbled, averting her eyes from him. "Not enough money for one thing, but I don't know how to fly. My few days as a mechanic-in-training did not work out well, so there's that. Uh, wouldn't know where to go..."</p><p>"All things you can learn, though," noted Cara hopefully. </p><p>"You're right," agreed Vena. She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe one day."</p><p>"Too many people have that attitude," said Cara quietly. Her eyes remained on the fire. She took a deep sigh. "I did, for one. I always was 'oh, I'll do that one day,' or 'I'll get to it,' but... I can't afford to be like that anymore. Not after the Empire."</p><p>Vena nodded. She looked at the fire, too. "Where are you from, Cara?" she wondered softly. </p><p>"Alderaan." </p><p>Vena sighed. She felt her heart clench with anguish, shaking her head immediately after Cara said that. Nothing could have prepared the universe for that news. No one could forget where they were, what they were doing, when the news dropped that the Empire had vaporized an entire planet with a new weapon. Vena had never felt such overwhelming fear or panic in her whole life--and not just her own. The fear in the galaxy was apparent in everyone's energy after news of Alderaan; it had often been the most outward feeling to the people she interacted with.</p><p>"I am sorry," mumbled Vena. </p><p>Cara shrugged. "A lot of people lost a lot to the Empire."</p><p>"That shouldn't undermine your feelings, though," Vena told her quietly. </p><p>Cara nodded, as if Vena hadn't been the first to remind her of that. She let it go. While Vena had certainly lost a lot to the Empire, she couldn't attest to her whole planet being wiped from existence. </p><p>The three drifted off into a thoughtful silence. The spotchka certainly did its job for Cara and Vena, allowing them brief mental coverage over the idea to share such intrinsic information. Vena frowned slightly at the thought that the Mandalorian hadn't been much affected by the spotchka besides his irritation. She hadn't been lying to him, she did wish him a chance to relax, but part of her had hoped to use the chance to find out more about him. </p><p>What did she really know about him? He had somehow found himself in a caretaker position that he wasn't qualified for. He was quiet, reserved, yet dominant when necessary and...Hopeful. He found faith in the villagers that Vena barely had. He was an excellent fighter, quick thinker. He was a Mandalorian. </p><p>And what did he know about her? Too much, probably. </p><p>Vena couldn't understand why she cared so much about what information they shared to each other. He was only passing through. The Mandalorian was temporary in her life, as was Cara. After they left, she knew her chances of seeing them again was slim. </p><p>So why did she care so much about knowing them both? </p><p>Her eyes fell from the fire and to the sleeping child wrapped in the Mandalorian's cloak. There was more to their story; she felt their mystery start to unravel when the child touched her the way he did. He was special, something akin to her, and she wondered if the Mandalorian knew. She wondered if the Child's specialty was the reason he was anxious back when they first met, or why he was unsure how long they were staying. The Mandalorian was on the move, it seemed, as was Cara. As was Vena. But she wasn't sure they had figured that out yet. </p><p>Vena cleared the thoughts from her head and let go of her knees, falling to her back on the grass. She wiggled her shoes closer to the fire and its warmth, spread her arms out at her sides. Her eyes wandered over the stars in Sorgan's atmosphere. No more deep thoughts remained in her head. She focused only on breathing and keeping her eyes moving across each star. She felt peace, there, in the silence with the Mandalorian and with Cara. It seemed they did, too. </p><p>"Vena, Vena, Vena!" </p><p>She turned her head to see Caben dancing towards her, his hands outstretched and wiggling at her quickly. </p><p>"Up, up, come on, you saved our village, you deserve a dance!" </p><p>"A dance?" wondered Vena. She sat up, shaking her head, and her finger at him. "Oh, no, Caben, I--oh, okay."</p><p>He didn't give her much of a choice. He grabbed her outstretched hand and pulled her up, pushing her towards the villagers. While she didn't struggle much, she verbally protested, a splurge of, "Oh, dear, oh dear," repeating from her mouth as he pushed her to the dancing villagers. </p><p>The Mandalorian hadn't been able to take his eyes from her for the elongated time she was laying on the floor. He watched her go, his eyes squinting at Caben's hands on her waist. He noticed his own eyes betraying him and stopped, shaking his head. And yet, he could find nothing else interesting to look at, and he found himself staring at her again. </p><p>He couldn't understand what was drawing him to her, especially after her admittance of her former job. He had never, would never engage in such tendencies. He thought originally that his feelings on the subject was pure shame for her, as he did not think it to be an honest profession, but his thoughts were shut down almost instantly by Cara's afterthought. He supposed he had never been in a position to think about what it was like as a woman in the galaxy. Women were often only wanted for certain jobs, especially far outside of the Core Systems. </p><p>The more he dwelled on Vena's admission, the more he found he wasn't uncomfortable by her past profession, but he pitied her position. He pitied the fact that Vena, who he had learned to be such a kind, genuine woman was forced to put herself in that position for money. He thought it unfair for any women to have to do that, and he only found himself wondering what more she had gone through, as if living through slavery and being a prostitute wasn't enough.</p><p>He found himself wondering if her encounters with Mandalorian's were during her time as a prostitute. He couldn't remember if touch was forbidden. They covered their entire bodies for protection and privacy, but he remembered the other teenagers in his tribe joking about the coverage being to avoid such temptations. How true it was, he wasn't aware. But he also knew he was more devoted than some of the others. One of the anxieties he held growing up in the tribe--sometimes he still held it--was that he never truly fit in. He wasn't a true Mandalorian, by some of their eyes, as he wasn't born on the planet. He always felt the need to prove his loyalty more than the others had. Maybe he couldn't remember the rule on touch because he swore it would never apply to him.</p><p>He cursed himself for how strong young Din thought he would be. He cursed Vena, for... Well, for making him even think about the rule.</p><p>"So you are fond of her, huh?"</p><p>The Mandalorian's head whipped to Cara's smirk. "What? No."</p><p>"Mhm, okay," said Cara. She observed Vena, too, grinning at the villagers forcing the woman to dance with them. The scared expression on Vena's face clearly read that she was unsure about dancing, but was far too nice to deny the invitation. "She's curious, though, isn't she? Didn't take her to be as tough as she is. Nor as good a shot."</p><p>"She was calling out the shots," said the Mandalorian carefully. He lowered his voice when Cara turned back to him, confused. "When we were running from the AT-ST. She was telling us which direction to run in to avoid the blasters."</p><p>"Meaning what?" asked Cara. </p><p>"Togruta's are sense-driven beings," chimed a voice behind them, scaring both the Mandalorian and Cara, although Cara was the only one who flinched. It was Omera. She moved to stand in front of them, her hands wringing together anxiously. She watched Vena, instead of dwelling on the two in front of her. "She used to tell stories to the children about it. How Togruta's use their montral's for a type of echolocation, how they can feel the earth underneath them, sense it, see it."</p><p>"I've never met one before," said Cara, defending herself. </p><p>Omera nodded. "You find her suspicious," said Omera, speaking more to the Mandalorian than to Cara. </p><p>"He's suspicious of everyone he meets," said Cara, as if she had known him a lifetime.</p><p>The Mandalorian remained quiet. He hadn't been asking because he was suspicious of her. Fascinated, would be a better word. What started as interest in her genuine attitude changed overnight. A frail, small woman had ripped a grenade from his hand and threw herself into a battlefield with no hesitation. He was not interested because he feared her. He was interested in her capabilities, her duality of soft and kind to reliable and fierce under the switch of a situation.</p><p>He mentioned the way she could sense the blaster fire to Cara in hopes she would have seen something or someone similar in her time in the Rebel Alliance. He hadn't attributed that trait to Vena's race. His first thought was similar to the moment the child lifted the Mudhorn--witchery. Magic. Not normal.</p><p>But, now, his wonder was solved. She was a Togruta. They could use their montral's to sense things. So Omera stated. </p><p>Omera continued, "Vena doesn't deserve your suspicion, Mandalorian." </p><p>"Noted," he said. </p><p>Omera stared back at him for a long while, but he didn't break. He didn't need to explain himself to the woman. He thought about it, for a moment, wondering if she would go on and tell Vena, but he held himself back from doing so. If she told Vena, it would be an excuse for them to talk privately. Although he cursed himself for the excitement in his stomach at the thought of them alone, he tried to tell himself he was only asking such questions out of the safety of the Child. The Child. Right. </p><p>The Mandalorian briefly mentioned he was going to put the Child to sleep. He grabbed him from the inside of his cape and held him tightly against his armor, wishing momentarily that it was softer, as the Child snuggled up to him. He walked to the barn and from the noise, letting the Child down into the crib and resting a blanket over him. He watched him sleep for a few moments before he decided his night was not over, and he exited the barn quietly. </p><p>He saw the silhouette of Vena's montrals waiting for him back at the fire. He froze, a rush of panic going through him, but he continued on. He glanced over at the other fire, noticing Cara had brought Omera back to the villagers. She noticed him exiting the barn and winked, her eyes flashing over to Vena. </p><p>The Mandalorian ignored her. He decided to still sit against one of the logs, though he sat much closer to her than he had to Cara. He wondered if she noticed. He glanced at her with only his eyes, keeping his helmet on the fire. </p><p>Given that he was taller than her, he saw over her, and noted that her eyes were closed. Her face retained some semblance of peace as she rested. Her feet were stretched towards the fire again, extended and crossed at the ankles. Her arms were wrapped up in her cloak, her head was tilted back against the log, slouching against it. </p><p>As soon as he started to wonder if he should have stayed in the barn, she spoke: "The dancing sent me over the edge, I think. I'm rather tired, now."</p><p>"You should rest," he advised. He glanced at the other fire. "You're staying at Omera's, aren't you?"</p><p>"I see you keep an eye on me," she said. He noticed her smile, though her head remained tilted back. "Yes. I just don't want to wake Winta with me going in, then Omera, whenever she does." </p><p>The Mandalorian nodded, then realized she couldn't see him, and audibly agreed. He took in a breath, wanting to ask if she would prefer the barn back, but he stopped, remembering there was only one bed. He didn't mind sleeping on some extra hay for a night. He certainly had much worse. But he stopped because he thought Vena would protest and deny rather than cause him the trouble. So, he elected to wait to ask. Maybe once she got sleepier, she would accept. </p><p>"Vena?" he asked, instead. </p><p>He noticed the way her body tensed when he said her name. Where her ankle had been slightly rotated back and forth, it stopped. Her eyes opened, too, but her head remained back. </p><p>He decided to ignore it, hoping her sudden anxiety was due to his preface before asking a question. "Why did you want to drink with me?"</p><p>"I think you deserve it," she told him honestly. She spoke softly and quietly, like she always seemed to do. Even with the villagers chatter, he focused on her voice, hearing her so clearly over all the noise. "You seem like you need a break."</p><p>She had no idea. Still, it struck him as odd that she would notice something so true to him when she had no indication of his face or his words most of the time. He found it strange that she would prioritize something like giving him a break over anything she needed to care for.</p><p>The Mandalorian said nothing, which was not out of the ordinary.</p><p>"Have anything to add?" She joked. </p><p>"You're interesting," he mumbled to her. </p><p>Vena's head raised. She looked at him, her eyes wide. He looked at her, too, for once. "Is that...Is that a compliment?" </p><p>"It's something," he decided to say, hoping the smile in his voice was apparent. </p><p>Vena grinned. "Well, alright," she mumbled. "And what does me being interesting mean to you?" </p><p>"It means that I think there is a plethora of stories behind your life," he said. </p><p>"There are," she said softly, somewhat painfully. She inhaled a deep sigh, then tilted her head at him. "But I feel the same about you." </p><p>The Mandalorian felt hotter in his armor the longer she looked at him. He knew he was blushing and was certainly pleased that she wouldn't be able to tell. He was aware of the mystery he appeared to have. Most of the time he found it humorous when people were irritated by his refusal to divulge. Vena was by no means irritated, only curious, and for the first time, he felt inclined to tell her his entire life story. Solely by the way she looked at him. </p><p>"I think that's enough of me letting the spotchka talk for me tonight," she decided to say, ignorant to the fact that he had taken a breath to tell her some of his story, after she had shared so much of hers. </p><p>He paused. He looked around, remembering her mentioning that she was going to sleep out there. Unconsciously, his hand stretched to the back of his helmet, inclined to ruffle the hair at the back of his head, as he was so used to doing when he wasn't wearing the helmet. His hand made it too far to return back without arousing question, so he awkwardly patted the back of his helmet before letting his hands fall to his lap. </p><p>She looked away, her hand falling over her lips to hide the obvious smile she didn't want him to see. </p><p>"Uh, if you wanted to," he mentioned, trying so hard to sound casual and uninterested. It was easier than he thought it was, with the voice modulator. "You could stay the night in the barn. I'll sleep on the hay for the night."</p><p>"No," she refused instantly. "No, the Child is already sleeping and you need the bed--"</p><p>"I don't," he insisted. "I've slept in much worse conditions. I don't mind. Really. The barn was yours originally, anyways. We're crashing your place." </p><p>The Mandalorian was too nervous in asking Vena to spend the night in the same vicinity as him that he hadn't noticed that was the first time he referred to himself and the Child as together. </p><p>Vena squinted her eyes at the Mandalorian. "Is this the spotchka talking?"</p><p>"No," he said quickly, shaking his helmet. "No, no. Not...Suggesting. Anything. Just offering you the bed. That's all." </p><p>"Mhm," said Vena, and he realized then that she only said such an accusation to make him more anxious. Even through all the armor, she didn't have to use her abilities to sense his nerves. She nodded then, agreeing. </p><p>The Mandalorian pushed himself to his feet. Vena stayed on the ground to pour the water pitcher over the fire while he used the bottom of his boot to stomp out the embers. She waved away the smoke drifting towards her, coughing as it entered into her lungs. He extended his hands to her, she slipped her fingers across his palm and held on tightly as he lifted her from the floor, allowing her to walk in front of him and away from the smoke. </p><p>They walked side by side back to the barn. The Mandalorian was not far enough gone that he couldn't walk in a straight line, but Vena was, and she was focusing hard on pretending she was okay enough to not stumble. He had pulled her rather quickly from the ground; she saw slight black dots in her vision but pretended not to. He noticed. She was not walking straight in the slightest, even if she thought she was. He smiled softly at the focused crinkle in her eyebrow as she stared at the ground beneath them, focusing very hard on walking straight. </p><p>He took a few longer strides to distance himself from her to crack open the barn door for her. She raised her head abruptly from the ground as his boots intercepted her vision and she looked at him blankly for a moment before she grinned, nodding at him in appreciation. </p><p>After he pulled the door closed behind himself, he turned, expecting her to be waiting, but she was not. Vena was laid down on the bed, not even underneath the blankets. He glanced at the Child, ensuring he was still sleeping as well, before he tugged off his cape and draped it over Vena's sleeping body. </p><p>He supposed he could have found another blanket somewhere in the barn, but decided against it. He would be fine without the coverage for one night. </p><p>He found a stack of hay in the corner by the barn door and laid down, Vena and the Child's sleeping silhouettes not too far from his line of vision. And he rested, for the first time, not worrying so deeply about being disrupted. </p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Tendency to Overthink</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Vena didn't necessarily react to waking up in the barn. That was her normal resting spot when she stayed in the village, so when she woke and saw the brown wood above her, she snuggled further into the blanket over her and rolled onto her side. Until she pulled the blanket under her chin and noticed its foreign smell--smoke, fresh dirt, the dampness of clothing when it was too wet for too long, and her eyes opened. She didn't have to look far to see the Mandalorian resting across the small barn from her, laying on his back, his arms crossed over his chest. </p><p>She felt her eyes open widely as she stared at him. Quickly, quietly, she rolled back over to face away from him, though her eyes remained wide. She was not buzzed enough from the spotchka glass to be ignorant to the night before; she had only been so far gone that she accepted a man's invitation to sleep in the same space as him. And steal his bed! Oh, she was going to beat herself up about her decisions when she was away from him. </p><p>She spent the next several minutes wondering if she should leave without telling him or wait until he woke up. It took her back to the nights she spent with her customers. Most agreed for her to be gone by the morning. Unfortunately, in such a scenario as the one she found herself in, Vena had nothing even remotely close to an agreement about what terms and conditions would occur the morning after. She cursed herself for even comparing spending a night in the same room as the Mandalorian to her former life. </p><p>She hoped beyond belief he could not sense her absolute panic about the situation at hand. </p><p>A soft coo at the end of the bed stopped her spiraling thoughts. She lifted her head from the pillow, peering over the foot of the bed, and saw the Child tossing under his blanket. She recognized the red blanket over him and looked at the blanket covering her, unsure of where it came from. She supposed the villagers supplied her with more blankets. But if that was the case, why did it smell of outside? She hadn't taken a blanket outside...</p><p>"Good morning."</p><p>Vena flinched so profusely at his deep, startling voice that an immediate blush crept to her cheeks. Caught, Vena decided to roll on her back then sit up, draping the blanket over her shoulders. She rubbed her hands over her face, hoping to settle the embarrassment in her cheeks before she was forced to look at him. </p><p>"Morning," she mumbled, adjusting her montrals to sit more comfortably over her shoulders. She looked over at him, noticing he had sat up from the hay too, and was tilting his helmet from side to side, aiming for an adjustment of his spine. </p><p>"Oh, I'm sorry," she sighed, letting her face fall into her hands. "I shouldn't have stolen the bed from you. You were probably uncomfortable all night and--"</p><p>"It's okay," he said, a chuckle escaping from his helmet. He waved his hand at her. "It was a fine night." </p><p>Vena froze at his comment. She wondered what he meant. Maybe he wanted that comment to be vague and include her. Or maybe he meant that he slept fine for the night. Or-- She widened her eyes yet again at the way her mind took off running when she thought about him. She would have to be more mindful about stopping her train of thought before something of the same caliber occurred again. </p><p>Her train of thought lead her to a question of if there would be a chance for such a scenario to occur. He would be paid today. The Raiders were gone. He did his job. </p><p>"Are you staying?" she asked, before she could convince herself not to. </p><p>She watched him for an answer. His helmet turned towards the crib at her bedside, where the Child had fussed enough for them to both wake, but still remained sleeping. He turned back to Vena's gaze. </p><p>"I'm unsure," he said. </p><p>Vena nodded. She hoped she made no non-verbal movements to suggest she was bothered by his answer and instead, forced a small smile at him. "Alright," she said, fiddling with the ends of the blanket she had over her shoulders. </p><p>He glanced over at the doors. "Do you think the village is up yet?" </p><p>"Normally, I would say yes," she said. "But after last night..." </p><p>"Alright," he nodded. </p><p>"I can go," Vena offered, guessing that he asked such a question to get her to leave. "It's no trouble. I might've already stayed long enough. I can go--" </p><p>Again, he shook his head. "No, no. You're alright. I just know when the kid wakes up he's going to want food." </p><p>Vena relaxed when he said so. A small smile on her lips, she nodded in celebration, as if he made a milestone in her eyes by thinking about the prosperity of the Child before himself. While it was foreign to him to do such a thing, he felt pride in exhibiting to her that he was becoming more familiar with caretaking. </p><p>"What does he eat?" she wondered, sitting up taller in the bed to look at the sleeping baby. </p><p>"So far, anything I've given him. Portion packets, soup. One of the village kids told me he ate a frog the other day," he admitted to her. </p><p>She raised an eyebrow. "A frog, like...Alive? An alive frog?"</p><p>He nodded, a sigh raising and dropping his shoulders. "An alive frog."</p><p>Together, they returned to watching the baby sleep, their minds usually on a numerous number of things, but paused on the fact that the Child was carnivorous. And seemingly, without hesitation. Or wanting his meat cooked. </p><p>Vena decided she was going to go and start breakfast for the villagers. She slipped out of bed--making a slightly confused face when she saw that she hadn't even bothered to take off her shoes--and shrugged the blanket from her shoulders.</p><p>The Mandalorian seemed to have noticed her face. "You fell asleep pretty much as soon as you hit the bed," he told her. He stood, brushing the hay from his pants. </p><p>As Vena started to fold the blanket, he held his hand out for it. She insisted on folding it, squinting her eyes playfully at him, but he took the blanket from her hands and attached it to his back. Vena's face dropped. The blanket she was snuggling with was not a blanket. It was his cape. </p><p>"Oh, dear," she said, her hands flying to cover her mouth. She wished she could see the look on the Mandalorian's face as she tried to conceal her absolute horror. "Did I steal it from you? Was I far enough gone that I asked for it? I am sorry--"</p><p>"Vena," said the Mandalorian sternly, holding his hands out to stop her. She stopped being a mumbling mess and waited for him to speak. "I gave it to you because I couldn't find the blankets." </p><p>"Were you cold?" she asked, seemingly not having listened to him. </p><p>He sighed. "No." </p><p>She squinted. "Are you lying?"</p><p>"Vena!" he said again, shaking his head. "No. I was fine." </p><p>Although she continued to squint suspiciously at him, she noticed the Child toss again in his sleep and elected to drop the topic. She hoped she was not sweating noticeably under the Mandalorian's gaze. The longer his helmet remained on her, the more anxious it made her about how she looked, what actions she took last night, what she admitted to him. </p><p>"I'm going to go start to make breakfast, then," she noted quietly. </p><p>When she took a step away from him and towards the door, he asked if she wanted help. Blushing yet again, Vena denied, mumbling some excuse as she slipped open the doors and pushed her body through them. Out of the barn, away from the Mandalorian's gaze, Vena exhaled a deep sigh and tried to release the anxiety building a headache at the base of her skull. She couldn't believe herself. Spending a night with a Mandalorian. Sleeping with his cape! </p><p>Vena looked around her quickly,  suddenly panicked about someone seeing her exiting the Mandalorian's barn. She found no one and briskly walked away from the barn before she jinxed her luck. </p><p>She returned to the firepit at the center of the village. Upon turning the corner, she saw some of the village elders working together to clean up the empty spotchka cups and prepare breakfast. Vena approached, greeting everyone, but they shooed her away from aiding in the morning meal and told her to ready herself for the day. </p><p>Vena agreed and returned to Omera's hut. She peaked through the open window to see Winta still sleeping on her little cot in the corner. Omera was sitting up in her bed, working a braid through her long hair. When she noticed Vena, she smiled and waved the woman in. </p><p>Vena slid through the door. She grabbed her bag from underneath the window and took it as she sat on Omera's bed, exhaling another sigh. </p><p>Omera's eyebrow raised. "What happened?"</p><p>Vena combed through her bag of necessities for a new set of clothes--preferably ones that didn't smell of smoke. She shook her head, unable to look Omera in the eye. She changed her shirt and tossed the old one into a pile in the corner of their hut, making a mental note to help with the laundry later. </p><p>"Vena, what?" pressed Omera, nudging the woman with her foot. </p><p>"Omera," started Vena, her head still shaking in disbelief. "I spent the night with the Mandalorian."</p><p>"You what?!" </p><p>As Winta tossed, Vena reached out and smacked Omera's hand, Omera grabbed her hands, and soon enough, they had run outside of the hut, where they could raise their voices higher without disturbing Winta. </p><p>Omera was invested. "Vena, start from the beginning. You spent the night with the Mandalorian? But he is so...Uninterested."</p><p>"Right?!" scoffed Vena, running a hand along her montral. She leaned against the hut. "I don't know. I asked him to drink with me last night, we shared some stories about our pasts, then I mentioned I was planning on sleeping outside and he offered me the bed in the barn, then I was in the barn, then I was asleep, then I woke up this morning and he had given me his cape as a blanket because he couldn't find the blankets." </p><p>Omera placed her hands on her hips. Then, she placed them over her mouth. Then, she uncovered her face and her lips were split. Confused, probably. Vena could say the same. How could a man who had spent the past week with them being alarmingly dissociated and independent from the village suddenly have a soft side?</p><p>Together, they said, "Maybe the spotchka." </p><p>Vena continued, "I certainly went a little deep into the back story. I blame the old spotchka." </p><p>Omera nodded. Her eyes widened and she grabbed Vena's hands, forcing her to pay attention to her. "Vena, I meant to tell you, too--I caught him talking about you. Last night, he was saying something to Cara about how you were able to tell them where the AT-ST was going to shoot."</p><p>Vena's face fell. It made sense, then. It wasn't the spotchka. He was suspicious of her. Maybe he knew more about Togruta's than he led on and knew that was not an ability delegated to the species. He wasn't being kind; he was acting it to get closer to her and find out the truth. She felt sick. Her original anxiety, the sweet, unsure, anxiety of enjoying someone's company was over with and replaced with dread and fear. The Mandalorian was a bounty hunter, she had to remember. He was a Mandalorian. There was no chance there wasn't ill intent behind his actions, if he deemed her dangerous. </p><p>"I told him it was due to your race," continued Omera. Mere seconds had passed since she had mentioned the fact to Vena, but Vena's mind needed no time to jump to the worst conclusion. "That you can sense the things through your montrals."</p><p>"Yes," said Vena, a little too quickly. "And he believed it?"</p><p>"As far as I can tell, yes," said Omera. She watched the color flood back to Vena's face. "Why? Is that not true?"</p><p>"It is, of course, it is," said Vena. She sighed, dropping Omera's hands. While her sigh was of frustration, of having to lie to the woman in front of her, Omera passed it off as sadness. "I only thought he might have been so nice just...Because. Now, I think it is only to learn more information on my species. He is a Bounty Hunter, after all." </p><p>Omera frowned. She rubbed her hand up and down Vena's bicep, offering the frowning woman a bit of comfort. Vena kept up the act of sadness. She hated having to lie to a woman who had done nothing but help her in all of her years on Sogran. But some actions were necessary in protecting oneself. Fortunately, a white lie would not kill Vena's conscious. She had told plenty of them in her lifetime. </p><p>"He'll be gone soon, at least. I expect he'll collect his reward and leave promptly," said Omera. </p><p>Vena shrugged. "I don't know. I asked him if he was going to stick around this morning and he said he didn't know."</p><p>"Why would he?" wondered Omera. "We plan to pay him today after breakfast. He has no reason to stay around." </p><p>Vena was none the wiser. She wanted to drop the topic of the Mandalorian and instead, told Omera she was going to start waking the villagers up for breakfast. After she used the refresher, changing her pants, washing her face clean and the smell of smoke from her montrals, Vena went door to door, repeating the same morning knock on the doors of the villagers. </p><p>Though she glanced at the barn when she passed it, she did not return to the barn to wake the Mandalorian. It seemed she would have to retract her natural niceties with he and Cara. He had shown his true colors in what Omera caught him saying. Even if he believed Omera's words, Vena could not take the chance in him wondering further about her actions. She had to distance herself at once from him and his watchful eye before she did something more he might notice. </p><p>The villagers had a quiet breakfast. With every new joiner, some laughter was heard, as were jokes about who looked the worst the morning after. Most of the villagers looked like they were going to head back to bed after they had eaten. </p><p>Cara, on the other hand, survived relatively unscathed. She grabbed a bowl from the bench and went over by Vena, sitting next to her on the log bench. </p><p>"You feeling okay this morning?" wondered Vena casually. </p><p>"Better than most," chuckled Cara. "What about you?"</p><p>"Alright," smiled Vena. </p><p>She noticed Cara's eyes flicker behind Vena. Vena didn't have to look to know who it was; she was told by her montrals in the way he walked towards them. She noted the Child, too, and she picked him up from the ground and into her arms when he reached her feet. </p><p>"Morning, my dear," she cooed, snuggling her into his chest. She stood, placing him on her hip. "Are you hungry? Is it time to eat?" she wondered. </p><p>"I can feed him--" the Mandalorian started to say, but Vena pretended as if she hadn't heard him, turning swiftly and walking towards the bowls. </p><p>The Mandalorian watched her go for a moment before he sighed and took a seat beside Cara, who had risen her brow at the odd interaction. </p><p>"What's going on there?" she asked. </p><p>"Must have not heard me," said the Mandalorian flatly. </p><p>Cara shrugged and continued to eat. </p><p>After the bowls were collected back for washing, Vena and Omera took the chance to address all of the villagers while they were gathered. They announced that those who felt up to it should begin to clean up the village and return to work. Vena offered to take a section of the village, Omera obligated to take a section, Caben did, and surprisingly, Cara did volunteered to manage another section, too. It would be at least a few days worth of work, even with the few extra helping hands, but no time was better than the present to start working on repairing the village. </p><p>The Mandalorian watched Vena scoop the last remaining bowl from the table before it was dumped. She squatted, placing the Child back on the floor, and giving him the bowl to hold. She turned him around to where the Mandalorian was watching, entirely avoiding his eye, and gave him a gentle nudge in the right direction. Though he looked back, unsure, she nodded reassuringly and he continued on the short walk back into the Mandalorian's care. </p><p>Vena was gone by the time the Child was back in close proximity to the Mandalorian. He scooped up the Child and the bowl from his hands, holding him closely to his chest as he briskly walked in the direction he thought he saw Vena disappear to. </p><p>He must have walked around the entire village before he found her. While searching, it did occur to him that he could have asked Omera what he wanted to ask. However, he wanted Vena, for the simple fact that he was friendlier with her. </p><p>He found her on the outskirts of the village by her speeder. She was sitting on the edge of the trunk, rummaging through it slowly. Before he was in her sight, she turned, clearly having felt his footsteps up to her. She paused her actions and turned her body towards him, her hands interlocked in her lap. She forced a smile. </p><p>"What's up?" she wondered. </p><p>The Mandalorian stopped a distance away from her. He thought she might be feeling strange about the night before and wanted to giver her space. It seemed as though she was uncomfortable by his presence, in the way she forced a smile onto her face or the hunch in her usually broad shoulders. He was now going to replay every moment from the night prior and wonder if he did anything to cause her offense. </p><p>"You, uh, you didn't assign me anywhere," he told her. </p><p>Vena's brow raised. "Oh, I wasn't aware you were choosing to stay," she said. </p><p>The Mandalorian nodded. "Yes," he said, looking at the Child as he watched some frogs leap around his feet. "The Child likes it here. So we'll stay."</p><p>"For how long?" asked Vena. </p><p>He looked at her, his own brow scrunching in confusion. He had thought she was going to be pleased by the news, given her adoration for the Child, and what he thought was a liking towards himself. He noticed how long the silence had gone on while he wondered why she sounded so monotone towards him, then shrugged his shoulders. </p><p>"Unsure," he said honestly. </p><p>Vena nodded and glanced back towards her trunk, wanting the Mandalorian to take the hint that she was busy and leave. When she turned back towards him, he hadn't moved. She tilted her head, forcing another polite smile on her face, asking with her facial expressions if there was more he wanted to say. </p><p>"And what about you? Are you going to stay?" he asked, finally. </p><p>Vena copied him and shrugged. "Not sure for how long." </p><p>"You're not behind on your trade route?" he wondered. </p><p>Vena paused before she answered. Her eyes squinted suspiciously at him momentarily. "I leave some wiggle room for me to be late," she said, her tone short. She pointed north of where they stood. "You can help Cara."</p><p>Then, she turned back to her trunk. </p><p>The Mandalorian remained. He opened his mouth a number of times to ask what was suddenly so wrong with her, but when a few minutes of uncomfortable, loud silence from her passed, he took the Child and left to help Cara. </p><p>Vena continued to avoid him for a few days. There was enough to do in the project of cleaning up the village where they could be distance, especially after she asked him to help out on the clear opposite side of the village. </p><p>She could not and would not ignore the Child, however. After the moment of solace they shared, it seemed he held an infinite amount of interest in her. When he saw her, at the start of the day, he would wiggle ridiculously out of the Mandalorian's grasp trying to say hello to her.  She joked about him associating her with food, as she typically was the one to feed him, though she knew that was a scarcely small reason he wanted to be with her. Whatever they had done that night, or he had, Vena knew they felt similar energies in each other, and were therefore driven to one another. Whatever power she had, he harnessed it, too. </p><p>She tried to keep a watchful eye on him when she wasn't busy. It was hard to identify if he truly was like her, when he was so small. He couldn't speak. He could barely walk. She looked, but some part of her was certain she would find nothing of the caliber she could do. She did not doubt his abilities, only his incapability to properly demonstrate them or describe them to her. </p><p>Vena grew up without knowing she was different. She didn't know until she was almost five years of age that she was able to sense and do things beyond the nature of Togruta's. She would have given the world to know someone was like her, when she was young. She hoped, beyond belief, that even after the Mandalorian took the Child far far away from Sorgan, he would remember her, somewhere in his memory, and know he was not alone in being different. </p><p>She didn't want to spend much time with the Child when the Mandalorian was around. She wished to take him alone to the outskirts of the village for privacy, but she also noticed his watchful eye on the Child at almost all times. He would never allow it, even for Vena, and especially not after she had been cold to him for the last few days. </p><p>The Mandalorian had tried to sit near her while she fed the Child, but Vena somehow managed to always forget a cloth, a spoon, something that would separate them. Much to Vena's relief, he started to understand she simply did not want to associate with him and he decided to accept it. The only contact he had with her was when she returned the Child back to him after meals, and even that was no more than an exchange of "Thanks," and "You're welcome." </p><p>Cara noticed the tension between them, as did genuinely every other villager. No one dared to say a thing; the general assumption was that something had happened the night they won the village back. Even Omera, who knew all they had done was sleep in the same room, questioned Vena's cold attitude towards the Mandalorian, but after she was shot down once by Vena for asking, she kept her curiosity to herself. </p><p>Finally, after a week and a half of essentially no interaction between them, when Vena came to collect the Child for breakfast, the Mandalorian called her name when she turned to leave. </p><p>The Child turned back to look for her when he noticed she wasn't walking with him towards the village center. She flicked her fingers at him, nudging him to continue, as she turned her body to see both the Child and the Mandalorian, although she knew her eyes and his would both be watching him walk through the huts and into the village. </p><p>Vena turned back to him briefly to acknowledge him. "Yes?"</p><p>"I'm sorry," he told her. </p><p>Vena glanced at him, surprised, then returned her gaze back to ensure the Child made it through. She turned to him. "You have nothing to be apologizing for."</p><p>Seconds later, it was as if a lightbulb went off in her head and she quickly glanced around, looked up, looked at her feet in the dirt, watched where his hands were placed. "What are you doing? What are you saying sorry for?" she asked, suddenly panicked. </p><p>"Whoa, whoa, nothing is happening," he said quickly. He held his hands open to her, showing nothing in his palms. </p><p>Her eyes were wide as she watched him move. He continued to stay still. Though she could not see his face, his face was scrunched in absolute confusion over her quick change to fear. She maintained her defensive stance, her hands in front of her, her feet spread.</p><p>"Vena--"</p><p>"Stop calling me that," she snapped at him, shuffling backwards as he took a step towards her. "Don't call me that."</p><p>"That's your name isn't it?" he asked, growing more confused. She neglected to answer. He shook his head. "V-uh, listen, I'm not going to do anything, it's all right."</p><p>She didn't look convinced. </p><p>"I was apologizing to you because I don't know what in farrik's name I did for you to avoid me the last few days. I might not have known you for a long while, but you're being uncharacteristically ignorant to me, after all that you did to introduce yourself to me, to help the Child, to give me pointers. So something is wrong," he rushed out, raising his hands in defeat. "Just tell me what I did. I asked around, I asked Omera, maybe I did something to offend your culture, or you, but she had nothing, and I had nothing. So what did I do?"</p><p>Vena paused. She wouldn't dare say it out loud, but his admittance of looking into her culture for any obvious offenses to her was foreign to her. She had never met anyone who tried to learn about her people. And this Mandalorian, this scary,  intimidating bounty hunter had been hurt the ignorance of a woman he just met, enough to research into his own potential faults. </p><p>For a brief moment, she wondered if he only said such a thing as part of his act. She couldn't help but think of the other side, despite how much she wanted to believe him, she needed to remain cautious of him. He was still dangerous, no matter how much he might have said otherwise.</p><p>"Omera told you, didn't she?" he asked her, before she could say a word. She kept her face flat. "She told you about how she heard me telling Cara about you evading the AT-ST blasts." When she remained unmoving, he continued, "I wanted to know if an advantage you had, being a Togruta. I've been honest with you, V...I've been honest. I have never met a Togruta before."</p><p>"Why do you need to know, then?" she asked. </p><p>He wanted to tell her. He wanted to take away the fear she was harboring in thinking that he was going to bring harm to her. But he couldn't. In the same way that Vena could not allow him to know the truth about her abilities, he couldn't tell her about the Child's, or the real reason they were on the run. </p><p>"I was telling Cara that I thought you were different than us. You are, you're a different species, yes, but it wasn't just you evading the blasts," he told her.</p><p>Vena's face fell. "What else is it, then?" </p><p>"You told Cara and I you weren't anything of intrigue, but you were uneasy about the AT-ST."</p><p>"Who wouldn't be?" she challenged.</p><p>"About what more it might mean--the remnants of the Empire," he clarified. He continued, "You know how to shoot, and well."</p><p>"It's the Montrals," she said quickly. "They help accuracy."</p><p>"You scared off the last raiders, but you're..." His helmet tilted down to her feet and raised back up to her face. She rolled her eyes, shifting her weight on her feet, clearly discomforted by his view of her physical appearance. "Frail," he said cautiously, trying not to be rude. "Even after the Empire is finished, defeated, you still want to keep a low profile."</p><p>"Can't blame me for not trusting the galaxy to not go through another war," she said defensively. "I've lived through two in my lifetime. That's more than enough."</p><p>He nodded in understanding. "You said you find your way out of things without violence, but you know how to shoot, you scared off the last Raiders, you put yourself close to a grenade, to the AT-ST, like it was just another day."</p><p>Vena waited for him to say more. When he shrugged, admitting to her that was all, she asked, "So what does that tell you?"</p><p>"What do you want me to say?" he asked her honestly. His hands fell to his hips, more annoyed than anything else he was feeling for her. "You want me to say that I think you're a threat to me or the Child, or that I'm studying you for the future of bounty hunting, incase I encounter a Togruta, maybe, but I'm not. I don't think you're suspicious or a threat or any of it."</p><p>"Then why were you analyzing me?" she snapped. </p><p>He almost told her. Just to stop her hostility towards him, he almost admitted to her the whole truth. It was true that they hadn't known each other very long but he was already starting to miss the kindness of her intent. The fear behind her eyes and in her stance towards him made him feel like the bounty hunter he was, and right now, that was not who he wanted to be. </p><p>He wanted to trust her. He did, for all intents and purposes. It was she who had lost her trust in him, seemingly, and he was doing her a favor by admitting to her all that he noticed. But she had asked a question that promoted his responses, and he knew he needed to divulge her a little in order to regain their try at friendship. </p><p>Where he started this journey alone, he thought it may not be the best anymore. The Mandalorian's on Nevarro helped him escape, when he thought he could do it alone. Vena had helped him keep the Child from choking, the Villagers helped keep an eye on him. He certainly could not trust everyone he met--he had lived  along life of purposely not doing that--but when in relation to the Child, maybe it was better if he had allies across the galaxy to help him, in case anything went poorly. After all, he was only one man. </p><p>"I'm keeping the Child safe from...People," he said, carefully. </p><p>Vena's eyes flashed up to him. Her face turned into a look of suspicion, asking nonverbally if it was the Empire, and when he said nothing, she sighed again, shaking her head with irritation. She was aware of how vile the Empire was when it came to children, but it didn't make her despise them any less. </p><p>She opened her mouth to ask why the Empire would be after a baby. She stopped before her brain could even form the words. Not only did she realize he probably would not admit to her the reason the Empire wanted the Child, but she came to her own conclusion as to why, only moments later. She could not hide the widening of her eyes when the thought crossed her mind: the Empire wanted the Child because of his abilities. The very thing that had been inside of her, that she hid based on an intuition, had to be the same thing the Child was wanted for. </p><p>Suddenly, Vena's fear was replenished. </p><p>The Mandalorian noticed nothing of her train of thought. He assumed her wide eyes to be fear of the Child's safety, and by all means it was, but if what she gathered was true, he and she were in danger far greater than they knew. </p><p>The Mandalorian continued, his voice lowering. "In the event that I can't do this, I need to find people who can protect him like I can."</p><p>"And you think that I can?" she clarified. "That's why you kept a closer eye on me, because you think I can protect him?"</p><p>"Yes," said the Mandalorian, trying his absolute best to push forth his sincere honesty to her. </p><p>Vena stared at him. Her eyes flickered down to his chest. He noticed her take a deep breath, her eyes on his chest for a few moments, before her tenseness softened and she nodded. What the Mandalorian didn't know was her searching his feelings for malintent, deceit, but all she managed to find was sincerity. Truth. For that, she could not fault him anymore. </p><p>"Then it's me who should be sorry," she told him quietly, looking away from him. "I was rude to ignore you as I have." </p><p>"You were afraid of me," he said, and it didn't come out like a question. </p><p>She shrugged, taking a deep breath. She looked at him briefly, and he noticed the tears in her eyes. She shook her head and looked away from him again, not wanting to release the tears. </p><p>He could imagine many reasons why the simple question would bring her to tears. She was honest with him, too, when she said she lived in fear of another war. The first, from what he gathered, put her into a slave camp as a child. The second sent the entire galaxy into fear, but he remembered her stories from the night they rid the Raiders, about being a prostitute and seeing different worlds. He was able to travel on the fly because his armor projected a message about him: violence. The same way it projected that message to Vena; people often left him alone. </p><p>But he could imagine, for Vena, a non-humanoid, young, skinny woman, the same message was not projected. Especially in places far from the Core, especially under Empire control. While traveling seemed like a fun feat, he could imagine it had not always been kind to her. He was sure she had many stories, and many that were not happy. </p><p>"I fear many things because of my youth," she admitted to him. She clenched her teeth, biting back the tears, trying to remain strong. "You are right, Mandalorian. I carry a fear that another Separatist army, or Empire army, or whoever's army will take me away again to a slave camp. I fear a duty to a job I don't want to be in, but have to in order to survive. I fear a great many outcomes of how the rest of my life will go, and I did believe your watchful eye to be of harm to me. I thought you may return me to the Imperial's, or take me as a bounty to be studied--"</p><p>"I would never," he told her, his tone harsh, and honest. She looked away shamefully. "I may have come off as, perhaps, more hostile than I intended, but I meant no harm to you by making those observations. I was interested in you, in the interest of the Child, for the interest of the...Child."</p><p>She forced a smile to him, nodding. She found it pleasant to know someone with a demeanor like the Mandalorian could still fumble over their words, sometimes. </p><p>"I know that now," she agreed. "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. It's just...Been a long while since I've had to worry about someone, um, interested in me. I immediately thought foul intent, and I am sorry." </p><p>He nodded. "I wanted to tell Cara in case she noticed anything else of you, too. I just--"</p><p>"You want to protect the Kid, I get it, Mando, really," she said honestly. "You did what you had to to keep the Kid safe, I did what I did to keep myself safe. No one's at fault here. All we lost was time together."</p><p>He paused when she uttered her last sentence, her own eyes widening briefly at the words that fell from her mouth. He was slowly slipping back to ease with her being the one to fumble over her words, now. </p><p>"To answer your inquiry," she continued quickly, trying to move past it. "Yes. Yes, if you need someone else with a fraction of your skill ability to ever watch over the Child, I will be it. Sorgan is a relatively safe place, with the exception of the Raiders. If you choose to stay for a while, the village will have you, and he will be safe."</p><p>"But you'll be on your route soon, won't you?" the Mandalorian clarified. </p><p>Vena bit her lip. She sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know anymore," she admitted to him. </p><p>Originally, she planned to leave the village as soon as repairs were finished, but with the Mandalorian's new information leading to a dangerous hunch of hers, she wasn't sure if it would be safe to continue her life on Sorgan. Vena hadn't met many people who felt the same as her. The connection of familiarity with the Child was almost immediate when she read his energy, and if that was true of him, she had to wonder if she could sense her same power in others, or if more powerful people could sense it in her. She had to assume that was true. Somehow, they had to have identified the ability in the Child, and if they knew what he could do, they were probably after people with those abilities. </p><p>The same reason Vena was never outward with her abilities was fear of exactly what the Child had to go through now. They weren't too different at all, it seemed--both on the move, trying to hide the substantial way they were different from the others around them. Only, the Child had gotten caught. </p><p>Vena had to think, now. If the Mandalorian was asking her for extra protection on the Child, she wondered if that was extended past the time he left Sorgan. She vowed to protect him while he was here, but if they were found on Sorgan, Vena's life of hiding would be over by means of association with the pair. If the Mandalorian left and she continued her life, there was a chance the AT-ST situation would lead the Empire back to her, and the Child would be with only one means of protection. And if she went with them, and they were caught, she would be found out, anyway. </p><p>Why did she have to stick her nose in some place it didn't belong? Why had she went out of her way to talk to the Mandalorian in that tent? </p><p>Vena ran her hands over her montrals, taking a deep breath. She chuckled, with no trace of humor, but panic. "Mando, to be honest, you've just changed my entire life," she told him. </p><p>She had been in close calls with the Empire before, but never on a caliber like this, not where she knew they knew of those with abilities like hers and were actively searching for such people. She couldn't take the information at leisure. She had to accept it, even if it was speculation, and condone the best course of action for the safety of those around her and herself. It was the only way she survived so long--by being cautious. </p><p>"You need to go," she told him honestly. "You have to assume the people who are after him knew you were here and are coming. Take him, leave here in the middle of the night, keep planet hopping. Don't talk with people, don't help anyone--just keep moving. Stay low."</p><p>"Whoa, wait," he tried to intercept. </p><p>"I'll take you back to your ship on my speeder. I'll give you til halfway through the night before I come get you, but when I do, we need to load your things quickly and quietly," she continued. </p><p>The Mandalorian stepped closer to her, reaching to grab her arms from how animatedly she spoke. She stopped, her eyes locking onto his helmet. </p><p>"What are you talking about?" he asked her quietly. </p><p>"I'm talking about you needing to take the Child and leave, if the Empire is after him, you need--"</p><p>"No," he stressed. "You. You said I changed your life." </p><p>Vena's lips split. Her brow came together. "Well, I hardly think that is of importance after--" </p><p>A gunshot within range snapped their heads to the forest. A swarm of birds rushed from the trees and into the air. They heard the gasps of the villagers, the sense of panic setting in. </p><p>Vena and the Mandalorian turned back to each other. </p><p>"The Kid," they said together, followed by Vena pushing him towards the trees, and tripping over herself back to the village to find him. </p><p> </p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. See You Again</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>By the time the Mandalorian and Cara returned, most of the villagers had taken the precaution of gathering in their homes, unsure of what the blaster shot was. As he and Cara walked through the village, they assured them it was an accident of Cara's while she was checking the perimeter.</p><p>The Mandalorian asked where Vena and the Child were. An elderly villager pointed them in the direction she went.</p><p>Vena was waiting at her speeder bike, her blaster in her hand, her finger on the trigger, and the Child sitting on her hip. She lowered her blaster when she recognized the vibrations of the Mandalorian and Cara walking towards her. Noting that the three were alone and away from the listening ears of the villagers, Vena returned her blaster into its holster.</p><p>"Bounty hunter," said Cara.</p><p>Vena glanced at the Mandalorian. "Active?"</p><p>The Mandalorian nodded. "Tracking the child."</p><p>Her raised brow fell. He hadn't mentioned active tracking on the Child. Vena shook her head, her neck sticking out. "You're waiting until now to mention that he has a tracking chip?"</p><p>"Of sorts," explained the Mandalorian. "It tracks biorhythms, but it's short range. You have to be on the same planet to find him."</p><p>"All the more reason to keep moving," she told him.</p><p>It was time, then, to move on from the village for all three of them. Cara returned to her hut to begin packing, Vena went to Omera's to gather her things, the Mandalorian started to pile his things at the barn door, and they let the Child play with the other children for the duration it took them to pack. It would be the last time for a long while, that the Child would be able to see other children.</p><p>Cara was forced to wait until the following day for the village transport to take her back to the common house, as Vena's speeder only had room for one other person, and the Mandalorian had to take the Child off planet as soon as possible.</p><p>When the Mandalorian's items had been loaded into Vena's transport, she locked the carriage, then turned to the watchful villagers. She embraced Omera and Winta, shook hands with Caben, hugged all of the village children, and waved at the rest.</p><p>"Until next time," she said to the villagers, holding her hand over her heart. She turned to Cara, who stood beside her speeder, and extended her hand. "Pleasure working with you. I will pretend we never met if any ex-Imperial or Rebels come asking about you."</p><p>"Appreciate it," laughed Cara. She turned her head as the Mandalorian came to stand beside Vena. They shook hands as well. "Until our paths cross."</p><p>"Until our paths cross," he agreed.</p><p>Vena climbed onto the speeder. The Mandalorian picked the Child up and set him in the sling she had fashioned for him out of an old blanket. She adjusted him as he sat in the pouch over her stomach, his ears peaking out, and his big eyes looking around.</p><p>The Mandalorian climbed on behind her, his hands rested loosely on her waist, and when he told her he was ready to go, Vena started up the speeder and started to drive.</p><p>"The trip's going to take at least half the day," she told him, turning her head so he could hear her over the wind. They weren't speeding, but they certainly weren't driving slow, either. "We can pull over whenever we need to. This path is the safest route on Sorgan."</p><p>"Does it get bad?" he asked her, leaning closer.</p><p>"At night, sometimes," she explained. "This stretch between the village and the common house is safe because there's more traffic in this section of the planet than some of the other sections. It's not even people, really, it's just the wildlife here sometimes can get territorial."</p><p>The Mandalorian nodded. He leaned back, away from her, but then he leaned closer again. "Were you going to finish telling me how I changed your life?"</p><p>Vena grinned. "We have almost an entire days worth of a trip, Mando. Must you start now?" she asked him playfully.</p><p>He huffed, but let it go.</p><p>They didn't end up stopping more than twice, once when Vena wanted to eat, and when the baby became too fussy to continue sitting and needed to run around for a while. Vena took care of his need to be stimulated, essentially, without even asking the Mandalorian. She placed him on the ground and poked his nose, then sprinted away from him. He huffed and started to scurry after her. Vena ran in slow circles around the speeder bike and its trunk, while the Mandalorian remained sitting on the bike, watching them.</p><p>When the Child tripped over his feet and the Mandalorian moved to stand, Vena held a hand in front of him.</p><p>"Don't react to him," she mumbled.</p><p>"He fell--"</p><p>"If you swoop in and panic, he'll learn pain to be much worse than it actually is," she told him.</p><p>She encouraged the Child to stand up, telling him that he was okay. He cooed sadly, pushing himself up, but no tears fell from his eyes. He laughed for a moment and then continued to run after her. She stayed still and allowed him to touch her at her ankle before she swung him up from the ground. </p><p>She eyed the Mandalorian, seemingly asking him to watch her, and she lifted the Child up in the air, twirling him around, then she released one hand from him as she lowered his head down to the handlebars of the speeder. She smacked her knuckles against one of the handlebars, then gasped, rushing out a quick, "Oh, baby, are you okay? Are you alright?" which led the Child to burst into tears, shaking his head. She cradled him into her chest, rocking him, and rolled her eyes at the Mandalorian.</p><p>"Interesting," noted the Mandalorian. "So, he can sense my feelings, like you can?"</p><p>Vena shrugged. "Your reactions, most likely," she covered. "Children are bright. Brighter than we tend to think."</p><p>He wanted to continue learning from her. But admitting that meant admitting some part of him wanted to keep the Child, and he wasn't ready to admit that to anyone yet, much less himself. </p><p>Over the last few weeks he spent on Sorgan, the Mandalorian wished he knew what his future was going to look like. He had stolen the Child from Imperial scrutiny, but what kind of a life would that be for him? To be constantly on the run, to never truly settle anywhere, and to be with a man who wasn't sure if he wanted to raise him or not. He had saved the kid, but he hadn't thought too much into what else that meant for them. He would have to, at some point, and every time the overarching question plagued him, he distracted himself with something else.</p><p>"Is that why you talked to me, in the common house?" asked the Mandalorian, doing exactly that. "Because you could sense my feelings?"</p><p>"I suppose," said Vena. She held no expression of discomfort on her face, but she didn't seem to want to divulge about it, either. "You just..." she said, trying, because he had asked her. "You felt troubled."</p><p>"Do you help everyone who feels troubled?" he asked. He wondered if he asked that with a twinge of jealousy. At the amused look on Vena's face when she looked down at him, he knew that he did.</p><p>"I don't," she whispered to him, a small smile on her face. She reached her hand out and patted the side of his helmet, where his cheek would be. "Only Mandalorian's with small, green children, apparently."</p><p>Vena released the Child to the ground when he stopped crying.  She had purposely pulled over near a pond and some patches of tall grass, aiming to let the Child chase after some frogs that would undoubtedly be there. He turned his head as he heard a frog croak and scampered off into the grass. </p><p>"Somehow, I have a feeling that's not true," the Mandalorian told her. </p><p>Vena turned and rested her elbows on the handles of her bike, resting her chin on the palm of her hand. "Yeah?" </p><p>He adjusted himself to face her as he sat on the bike, one leg steady on the ground, the other a few inches from it, bent on the spot where Vena had been sitting. He crossed his arms over his chest as he kept his helmet on her, his visor tilted to line up with where her eyes were squinting playfully at him. </p><p>"I feel like you help a lot of people who are in need," he guessed. </p><p>"As do you, I see," she said in return. </p><p>"For the money," he told her. "I don't think you do it for money. I think you do it because it's the right thing to do."</p><p>"And you don't?" she clarified. She rolled her eyes. "Please. I won't forget how you suggested to train the villagers, especially after I didn't even have faith in them." She paused, glancing back at the Child to make sure he was alright, before she turned back to him. "You have a hard exterior, Mando, but you won't fool me. I know you have a good heart. You're a good man."</p><p>The Mandalorian said nothing, which was common for him, and she didn't want to push any further. He seemed to be uncomfortable with conversation with most, which was why she found it odd that he, for some reason, had initiated most of their conversations today. </p><p>She tried not to peer into his feelings anymore after learning  that he seemed to value privacy, exceptionally more than the other Mandalorian's she had crossed paths with in her past. It was different, as she usually didn't have to try to feel people's energies, but for the Mandalorian, she tried to ignore the signals he naturally exuded. For him, she felt the urge to make the effort to ignore them. Maybe she enjoyed leaving him as a mystery. Maybe she just enjoyed him. </p><p>The Child wandered back to Vena and the Mandalorian, his hands over his mouth, still shoving the remains of the frog he caught into his mouth. He swallowed, then burped, and looked wide-eyed up at his caretakers, who had genuine looks of concern on their faces. </p><p>"Lovely," said Vena, wincing for the frog. </p><p>She gestured with both hands for the Child to come to her and she placed him back into the carrier on her chest, mounted the speeder bike, then continued their travels. </p><p>When they passed the common house, and it was way past dark, the Mandalorian leaned closer to her to navigate her to where he landed his ship. They continued on a little bit further. She drove them through the start of a forest, coverage, she assumed, and had to slow down in order to manuver the speeder safely through the trees.</p><p>Vena didn't know what she was expecting when she thought about what his ship looked like. It fit him, though. It was definitely pre-Empire, not the shiniest, or even a current model, but she knew he must have taken care of it for it to last him so long. </p><p>She came to a stop near the back of the ship, powering the speeder down, and settled her feet on the ground, whistling lowly at it. "What a ship, Mando."<br/><br/></p><p>He looked over his ship. “This is the Razor Crest.”</p><p>"It's certainly something," she said quietly. </p><p>She scooped the Child from the carrier and placed him on the ground, throwing the makeshift carrier on the seat of the speeder. She unlocked the trunk at the back of her speeder while the Mandalorian raised his left bracer, lowering the back ramp. </p><p>Together, the Mandalorian and Vena loaded his belongings back onto his ship. He assured her to just drop his things at the base of the ramp--he would organize later. They made several trips, together, when the baggage was heavy, and singularly, when it was able to be carried by Vena or himself. Vena noticed, upon looking around the Razor Crest, that he had emptied his entire weapons locker to go to the village. It made her chuckle. </p><p>His ship felt empty. Despite him living primarily on it, she saw nothing beyond necessity. An opened weapons locker, a docking station, some miscellaneous crates strewn about. She hoped the cockpit, or any other places hidden away, brought him some sense of comfort. </p><p>"I think that's it," he said, startling her. He walked up the ramp and rested his hands on his belt. "I have everything."</p><p>Vena gestured to the ship. "You have to child proof this," she said. </p><p>"I planned to," he said gruffly, sighing. "Just hide anything dangerous?"</p><p>"Anything dangerous, anything he could eat," she agreed. She looked past him, at the empty forest around them, then sighed. "I would offer to help you, but I do think it's better for you to go."</p><p>The Mandalorian whipped his helmet to her. "Are you...Are you not coming with?" </p><p>Vena flushed. She raised her brow at him, wondering where on Sorgan he came to that conclusion. "I-I can't," she choked out. Her face flushed again with warm under his unnerving gaze.</p><p>"But when I--" he paused, shifting on his feet. He was frustrated. "When I asked you if you would help, I thought that implied--"</p><p>"I can't just leave Sorgan," she told him, confused. "I agreed to protect him in the event that you can't do it anymore. I didn't agree that I would leave my life here to follow you." </p><p>He was clearly upset. She hadn't expected his brief words to mean that he wanted her to leave with him--that absolutely was not her interpretation of his words. Her stomach launched with nerves at the thought of him believing they were going to care for the Child together. She couldn't tell if her nerves were due to her misinterpretation, or the fact that she wanted to live out that reality, but could not. </p><p>"It's better Cara and I remain on Sorgan," she continued softly. He raised his helmet to look at her, but she could feel his frustration radiating off of him in the tense way he held himself. "If our actions at the village bring ex-Imperial, we won't mention you. It can sold as a job done by us and with no mention of yourself. We can take any heat off of your trail."</p><p>The Mandalorian huffed and walked past her. A frown on her lips, she watched him pass, and continue on to the ladder at the forefront of the cargo bay, climbing up the ladder and out of sight. </p><p>Vena looked over at the Child, who had watched him leave, too. "Sorry if he's grumpy with you now," she mumbled. </p><p>She turned to exit the bay, wondering if that would be the extent of their goodbye, but the clanking of his boots down the ladder held her in her place. He returned to her side, taking her hand from her side and placing a comlink in it. He closed her fingers around it before releasing her hand. </p><p>"I assume I'll only be able to contact you if you're close," she said and he confirmed with a nod. "Well, I will be on Sorgan for the time being if you need anything. I can't imagine you needing much from me, but you never know."</p><p>He cleared his throat, shifting on his feet again in front of her. Was he...Nervous? Vena bit her lip. "I...Thank you for your help. I guess I should have asked more clearly for you to come with us." </p><p>"I would've made the same decision if you had, " she tried to assure him. "I need to stay for a while to make sure your tracks are gone. I will be much better helping you in that way than any other. You alone can do much more to keep him safe than I ever could." She paused and shrugged. "When I usually depart from planets, something has always told me it's time to go. Just some feeling, telling me it's time to move on. And I haven't felt that on Sorgan yet."</p><p>He was quick to reply. "And when you do?" </p><p>Vena smiled. She extended her hand to him and he held it, shaking for a brief moment, before their hands just remained together. She noticed the way his visor tilted down to their joined hands.</p><p>"Sometimes," she whispered, bringing his visor back to her. "I hear, that if you wish to see someone again, you can just ask." </p><p>The Mandalorian huffed. She assumed it was some semblance of a laugh. "I ask because you're good with him. He likes you." </p><p>"Nothing you can't achieve," she told him honestly. "Don't underestimate yourself when it comes to caretaking. You've seen me do a lot in these last weeks. You two will be fine." </p><p>Vena stepped away from him and squatted, using both of her hands to gesture for the Child to come to her. He hurriedly ran for her and she extended her hand to him. When his three fingers wrapped around her palm, the familiar warmth that came with his touch spread through her hands and straight to her heart. He looked up at her with his big eyes, tilting his head, when he detected her sadness. </p><p>"I'll be alright," she said quietly to him. "Don't give your old man too much trouble, okay?" </p><p>He cooed a reply and she picked him up, handing him to the Mandalorian. She smiled at the pair, inhaling a deep breath, with the Mandalorian. They would be alright, they both knew, but something about separating from each other brought a discomfort to both of them. </p><p>Vena turned away from them. She walked down the ramp. When her feet were in the grass, she turned once again, wanting to say one final thing to him. A hand was placed over the Child's outstretched arms, his hip was turned away from the view of the woman, but his helmet was still watching her leave. She frowned at the Child's clear want for her. </p><p>"Maybe this is too much for me to admit to you, but I have a feeling in my heart, Mando," she admitted to him. She stayed strong in her gaze to him, despite the way her hands shook as she pushed through her anxieties to tell him this: "I don't feel our paths have crossed for just this short amount of time."</p><p>"Neither do I," he admitted to her, not skipping a beat. </p><p>A smile broke out across her face. "Alright," she whispered, shifting her eyes away from him for the slightest moment. He wished she could see the smile underneath his helmet. </p><p>"Until we meet again," he told her. "Not a goodbye."</p><p>"Not a goodbye," she agreed. </p><p>She smiled at him one last time before she slipped her arms across her chest, holding on tightly to herself as she walked back to her speeder. Turned away, where he couldn't see her, her face lit up with the childish excitement of somehow knowing they would meet again. Shaking her head, she locked the trunk on her speeder back up, then pulled her journal from underneath the seat of her bike, finding the path she would continue on for her trade route. </p><p>The Mandalorian was kind enough to let her depart before he did. He made sure to fly above her as he went, knowing she would sense the vibrations of the ship, and they exchanged one final wave before he took off towards the clouds. </p><p>Vena smiled after his ship. She trusted the feeling inside of her. That something that had always been inside of her, the extra emotion, the extra entity, told her through whispers in her ears and in her head that she and the Mandalorian were not quite done yet. </p><p>And she couldn't wait to see him again. </p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Together Again</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When the Mandalorian left the planet, Vena continued on her trade route as if the last few weeks hadn't happened at all. She couldn't be sure if or when ex-Imperial's would arrive, since she was consistently traveling across Sorgan, but she held a feeling in her chest that assured her none had. She wouldn't hear about it for some section of a year until she circled back to the common house or the village, if there were. All she could truly do when it came to watching for Ex-Imp's was trust in her premonitions and watch the sky for unknown ships.</p><p>The feeling in her chest settled most of the anxiety the Mandalorian had brought to her life. Where she once felt panicked about the potential of being found out, she now felt another type of anxiety--worry for him and the Child. She couldn't help her mind wandering to them every day, wondering what they were doing, where they were headed. She knew he wasn't thinking of her, in return. She could assure that he must be busier than she was. Most of her time she was alone, with nothing but her thoughts, hence, why she couldn't stop thinking about him.</p><p>She found herself in the habit of looking at the stars every night before she fell asleep, trying to remember him. He only existed in her memory. Him, his stoic demeanor to others, yet his desire to speak around her. The way he chose to take a violent profession, but risk it all to save a Child. She thought about his insistency to stay private to most, to hide himself, make himself anonymous, but he had been nervous when he said goodbye to her. She thought about how irritated he had been with her decision to not go with him. And, if she wasn't mistaken, he wanted to see her again.</p><p>Needless to say, thinking about that fact, she went to bed smiling every night.</p><p>She didn't think about many men she had met through her lifetime--and there were plenty. But none that felt like the Mandalorian did. When she closed her eyes, she could see the shape he extended around himself with his energy; a beautiful array of white light against the darkness, pulsating, swaying around the outline of his shape. White was not a color she often saw, on others, rather. She tended to see a white light around her own shape when she projected her feelings to others. So maybe it was the matching colors of their energies that drew her to him in the common house, or his sense of helplessness. She didn't know. It was something, different and special, about that Mandalorian that she desired to be around, so much more so now that he had left.</p><p>She wondered if the next time they met, if she would be bolder. She meant what she said to him, when she told him that she saw their former misunderstanding as wasted time. She certainly hadn't meant any romantic inclination by saying so, but she would not deny wanting to pursue something with him. He was far too intriguing to her to be just another man in the galaxy.</p><p>Though most of her thoughts surrounded the Mandalorian, she did think about the Child, too. She hoped the Mandalorian was taking care of him and not simply keeping him alive. She had a good feeling that he was trying, and that was enough. But she worried about the Child not understanding the severity of the Mandalorian's actions. She hoped, by whatever connected them together, that he could understand and was trying to subdue his powers to keep himself hidden as best he could.</p><p>After the Mandalorian had told her about his tracking fob, she thought a bit further about it, wondering if there were people out there that could track using the energy inside of them. She felt a little bit in everybody; a little piece of her inside everyone she met, but had to assume only certain people were at liberty to use it, as she did.She tried to tell the Child, or rather, convey to him through their connection that possibility, before they parted, but she had to remember the obvious: he was only a baby. Nevertheless, she hoped he understood her warnings to stay low with his abilities.</p><p>Weeks later, Vena kept business rolling. She stopped through three villages, where she normally spent a night or two, but had to advise them she must continue moving to make it to everyone on time. Some of the villagers were kind enough to ask if she was alright and what had happened; Vena told them she was attacked by a creature and was not well enough to immediately travel afterwards. She went through some extreme dramatics and added a limp to her walk, selling it to the villagers who were angry about their goods being late and had threatened to lower the wage. She collected the same amount of money as usual, after she deployed the limp.</p><p>When Vena stopped through the last village on the Western portion of Sorgan, she noted the journey to the next village would be somewhere around four days, with only an ability to travel from sunrise to sundown. It was dangerous to move through the dark in certain stretches of Sorgan, due some of the planets nocturnal carnivorous animals; this was one of them. She noted there would be no others, though, only her and the animals, for four days to the next village. She would be alone, for all intents of purposes.</p><p>Before she could talk herself out of it, Vena set off into the open land of Sorgan. She stopped when her scope read that she was far from heat signatures and when she found tree coverage. She stopped her speeder when she was a few feet into the trees, shrugging off the cloak around her shoulders, the goggles over her head, any loose articles, then she looked around one last time, making sure she was alone, before she sprinted into the trees.</p><p>Maker, she hadn't done such a thing in genuine years. By that, she meant, freely run, as fast as she could, just because. She could run faster than an average humanoid not because of her race, but because of the power inside of her. She could jump higher than others, because of that same power, too. She did just that--she spotted a pond in a small clearing through the trees and she jumped, her arms flailing, her breath catching, until gravity brought her back down and she tucked and rolled, still managing to land on her bottom. Vena giggled. She bent forward, her chest shaking with childish laughter, then she scrambled to her feet and kept running.</p><p>She could remember in what emergency circumstance she found out about the innate ability of hers to run and jump faster and higher than what she thought was normal. As far as she could remember, the physical exertion of the extra ability inside of her had only been revealed when she was in danger. She never tried, beyond that, for reasons unknown to her. She supposed it was not of interest to her, to outwardly be so extremely different than most of the galaxy. She preferred using her abilities emotionally; it was inconspicuous and safer than an outward usage. </p><p>But for the first time in years without an actual reason, Vena just wanted to run. She was probably a blur as she sprinted by various animals in the forest, too fast for them to comprehend, or to care. Under the coverage of the forest, she jumped and she ran, and she landed poorly numerous times, all of which just caused her to laugh. She felt freer than normal, away from the thoughts of the Mandalorian and the Child, away from the anxiety of the remaining Empire. She was alone, with the whoosh of the wind whipping across her ears, the dirt crushing beneath her feet, and the drop of her stomach every time she threw herself through the air.</p><p>Vena was trying something different when it happened. She naturally could run and jump further distances, but she wanted to try it from a standing perspective to see if it still worked. She spread her feet apart and wiggled her fingers, whispering at them to not let her down, then she pushed them down towards the ground with a slight bend of her knees. Nothing happened. She remained on the ground.</p><p>She bent her knees first, then pushed up, but remained on the ground. She frowned, then tried to step and push her hands down. She tried a number of variations of the same principle, but all of her attempts resulted in the same end result: nothing.</p><p>Frustrated, Vena rolled her eyes and took a step, throwing her hands down angrily. It was that time, when she was irritated by her own failure, that she shot up into the air, and a long shriek exited from her mouth. She was high, higher than the tree line, and she waited for gravity to overtake her again and suck her back into the coverage of the trees before she was wriggling through the air, trying to catch herself on a branch, the bark, something--but she didn't. She squeezed her eyes shut as the ground approached her, knowing how badly it was going to hurt, but then the impact didn't come. Vena opened one eye. She saw the dirt underneath her, her hands flat and ready to break her fall, and she was levitating above the ground. As soon as she noticed, it stopped, then she fell the remainder of the way, landing softer on the ground. She rolled onto her back.</p><p>"Yeah, I agree," she said, to no one in particular. "That's enough for today."</p><p>It was then she heard a repetivie beeping noise from her belt. She knew instantly what was causing it. She had no other technology. Fumbling to push herself up, she practically ripped open all of the pouches of her belt, not recalling where she put the damn device, until she located it and dropped it immediately, then picked it up and pressed the button.</p><p>"Hi, hello, hi? Hello?"</p><p>"Hi," came his modified voice. A laugh, after, if she wasn't mistaken.</p><p>Vena almost fell backwards again in pure bliss. Her smile caused her eyes to almost close entirely. "Hi," she said once more, a bit lamely.</p><p>"Hello," he said again.</p><p>"My God," she heard another voice say, annoyed. "Vena, where are you? We're coming to pick you up."</p><p>"Cara?" asked Vena, snapping back to reality. Dread filled her stomach. "Oh, no, is everyone alright?"</p><p>"We're all okay," assured the Mandalorian. "We just have to talk. Can you keep the comm switched on, so we can locate you?"</p><p>"Yes," said Vena. She stood, examining the comlink a little better before she did as he asked. She brushed off the dirt from over her pants and her shirt, now extremely conscious about how dirty she was.</p><p>Vena tucked the comlink into a pouch on her belt. She ran back in the same direction, this time, refraining to jump. As soon as she got back to her speeder, she stripped off her clothes, pausing to apologize to whatever animals had to watch her, and she dug through her various bags until she found a nice black jumpsuit she wiggled up to her hips. She found the less wrinkly shirt she could, a baggy long sleeved cream shirt, and tugged that on, then the thin straps of the jumpsuit over it. She adjusted it as needed, reapplying her black belt around her waist, and slipping her boots back over her ankles. She hurriedly wiped her montrals down with the sleeve of her shirt, hoping she managed to rid all of the dirt from them.</p><p>She felt a little ridiculous, after she rushed to ready herself, and the Razor Crest hadn't landed. The adrenaline rush she felt in trying to return to her speeder in time to look presentable had simmered when she pushed her speeder to the edge of the tree line, and now had to sit casually on it, as if she wasn't waiting for them to arrive. She stood, thinking she should look busy. She didn't want to seem too eager to see them.</p><p>But obviously they wanted her to know she was going to expect company. So she should be standing ready. Ugh. Vena felt ridiculous. Not just a little--a lot.</p><p>No sooner than the minute she decided to just rock back and forth from her left to her right food, the Razor Crest flew over her head, and started its descent at the base of the hill in front of her.</p><p>Relief flooded her at the sight of it. Hearing them confirm they were alright was not enough, apparently, as the tightness around her heart lifted when she started to walk towards the ship and saw their three figures descend down the ramp.</p><p>Vena forgot to even take the speeder down with her. She ignored the urge to run for them. Every step down the hill felt like an eternity, until they met at the base of the hill, and the Mandalorian set the Child down when he started to fuss out of his arms.</p><p>Vena squealed, dropping to her knees. The Child almost trips over himself running to her and she grabs him from the ground, tucking him into her chest and rocking them both.</p><p>The Mandalorian couldn’t  help but smile at their giggles. The Child was the happiest he’d  been since they left Sorgan, when he resided in Vena's arms. He had hoped the Kid would remember her, but it was immediately clear he had no trouble remembering. The minute he heard her voice over the comlink, he became restless.</p><p>The Mandalorian had to wonder if the Kid wanted to see her more than he did.</p><p>Vena's attention turned to him when she lifted the Child up into her arms and stood, remembering there were others she hadn't greeted. If her grey eyes could brighten anymore, they did when she looked upon Cara and him, the smile on her lips showing almost all of her teeth. Her eyes didn't stay on the Mandalorian's for a long time, not truly giving her any time to react to seeing him, since Cara decided to speak.</p><p>"It's good to see you," said Cara, first, reaching to shake Vena's hand. </p><p>Vena shook her hand. "Sooner than I ever expected," she admitted, still grinning. Her smile was contagious and made Cara grin, too. "Not that I'm happy to be seeing you all again, because I do assume it's under poor circumstances, but Maker, I did not expect to see you all so soon."</p><p>Cara looked over at the Mandalorian, waiting for him to explain what those circumstances were, but he found himself unable to form a word. He realized he hadn't even said hello to her, let alone offer his hand for a greeting, or--</p><p>"Mando," said Cara, waving a hand in front of his face. "Hello?"</p><p>"Hi," he breathed out. Vena's shoulders raised as she laughed at him, a little unsure of why he was acting so odd. He remembered she could probabably feel how nervous he was to see her, so he pushed his shoulders back, forcing out a more confident and assured, "Hello."</p><p>"Hi," said Vena, nodding her head expectantly. Her brow was raised and her bottom lip was between her teeth, trying to hide her laughter at him. She thought <em>she </em>was nervous.</p><p>Cara breathed out a sigh. "So, were you going to tell her why you're here, or are we going to just keep saying hi?"</p><p>"I'm assuming you need our help," said Vena, trying to help him speak. She looked at him, tilting her head. "Yes?"</p><p>"Yes," he managed to say.</p><p>Vena's eyes sparkled. "Then it's a good thing I was feeling ready to leave Sorgan."</p><p>The Mandalorian couldn't help the way his head snapped to hers. It hadn't been long since they last saw each other. Maybe a month, month and a half, and that feeling she spoke about, when she knew she was ready to leave to another planet, she must have felt it so soon after his departure. He had to wonder if... he stopped himself. No, he wasn't the reason. He couldn't be.</p><p>Vena neglected to verbally answer and instead just nodded, a happy smile lighting up her eyes and stretching her lips into a grin. She looked over at Cara, then, deciding to move the conversation onwards. "Of course, that's if you two won't mind helping me fake my death," she said casually. </p><p>"Faking your death?" asked Cara incredulously. </p><p>Vena rolled her eyes, huffing as though that was the most normal thing in the world to ask of them. "Yes," she said, her tone obvious. "It's a bit suspicious to just up and leave Sorgan after I've been the trade runner for six years, isn't it? So, come on. Let's make it look like a wild animal tragically ransacked me."</p><p>Vena turned on her heel and started up the hill towards her speeder. After glancing at each other, Cara and the Mandalorian followed, with the Mandalorian gesturing for Cara to go first. </p><p>"A wild animal, huh?" asked Cara. "How long have you been thinking about faking your death?"</p><p>"Six years in the making," said Vena casually. "I thought about the Raiders getting me, or maybe drowning in a pond because no one's seen me swim before. But, realistically, I've never swam anyway, so I thought maybe I would actually drown and then that would be a little tragic."</p><p>"Only a little," joked Cara. </p><p>"I've never left a planet without faking my death or pretending I was kidnapped," Vena told them, turning her head to shout-whisper, as if others were listening. "It has worked for this long. Not taking chances now."</p><p>When Vena turned back around to watch where she was walking, Cara turned to the Mandalorian behind her and flashed wide eyes at him, signalling to him that Vena was mildly strange. Mildly, he thought, almost endearingly. So the woman had some superstitions. He couldn't fault her for that; he could say pretty much nothing on the topic of superstitions, given his Creed. </p><p>Vena set the Child down by her speeder. She unlocked the trunk, leaving them in the lock, then started to dig out the few bags she had that belonged to her and held her belongings. She set them to the side. With Cara and the Mandalorian's help, they unhitched the trunk from the speeder and shoved the speeder down the hill, crashing into a large boulder at the end of it. Though it didn't explode, it shattered the front end and knocked it over. They flipped over the trunk as well, leaving it at the top of the hill, and Vena rummaged through what little was left of her trade, ripping cloth bags apart with a knife, shattering some of the glass jars. </p><p>She ducked out from the trunk and wiggled off one of her boots and tossed it down the hill, she grabbed an old shirt and dug a knife through it, sending strips of cloth into the wind, and even ripped a few empty pages from her journal out, sending those into the wind, too. When she believed the job was done and believable, Vena placed her hands on her hips and stood at the top of the hill, observing.</p><p>"Dank farrick," she sighed. "Too bad I don't have any more excess blood. Used all that at the last death scene."</p><p>To that, Cara and the Mandalorian decided to not comment. Vena turned and exhaled a sigh, then grabbed her bags and smiled at the pair, apparently, ready to go. The Mandalorian picked up the Child and led the way down the hill and back to his ship. He closed the ramp behind Vena as she stepped off of it, then noticed her awkwardly standing with her bags in hand, and he pointed to a table off to the side where she could place them. She smiled thankfully. </p><p>The Mandalorian gestured to the cockpit. He climbed the ladder, pausing to set the Child on the edge of the hatch, before he finished climbing up himself. He hadn't offered to help Cara as she made her way up, only because she seemingly never needed his aid, but he extended his hand to Vena when she was high enough up the ladder to reach it, and she smiled again, placing her hand into his and pushing herself up while he pulled her out. Vena looked over to the open window of the ship and dropped his hand, stepping forward to see the view. She looked over the controls on the panel, her hands clasped and close to her chest, as if she was afraid to touch anything. </p><p>Vena picked up the Child and set him in her lap as she sat down in the seat to the right. She buckled the seatbelt over the Child's lap and her own, placing her hands in his lap for an extra precaution. His three fingered hands rested on her own, each hand holding on to one of her fingers. </p><p>"We're going to Nevarro," said the Mandalorian, settling into the pilot seat. He started to flip and turn controls over the dash, pausing as the ship started its engines, listening to it speak, before he started to punch in the navigations. His gloved fingers moved quickly across the computer with one hand, while the other continued reaching over the various controls, buttons, and knobs. He didn't have to look, really.</p><p>Vena was sure he had been flying so long he could get the ship into the air without sight. But still, she watched, intently, finding it a challenge to find out what sequence of controls did what or had what effect on the ship. Despite some incessant want of hers to see the galaxy, she didn't truly want a ship of her own. She wasn't sure how she would feel about piloting. She found it much more enticing to try and figure out how ships were piloted, as every one she had been on in her lifetime had been so drastically different from one another. </p><p>The Razor Crest lifted into the air. Vena sat up straighter in the chair, trying to see over the control panel and through the window as the Mandalorian flew them up and into the sky. He didn't linger on Sorgan too long, which she supposed was a good idea, but what was last seen by her of Sorgan was a vast stretch of forest, to which she said a silent goodbye to. She thanked the planet for bringing her safety and solace for so long, closing her eyes in a focused goodbye. When she opened them, she saw the familiar blackness of space and the twinkling of shining stars too far in the distance for them to reach. </p><p>The Mandalorian wished he could turn around and watch her face as he placed his hand on the lever. He remembered, every time he pushed the lever, the elation on her face when she told he and Cara that she found a love and appreciation for hyperspace. He looked as far to the right as he could without moving his helmet, seeing her in his peripheral, and he pushed the lever forward, watching her as her body fell forward with the push into hyperspace, then moved backwards with the entrance into hyperspace. He saw a grin stretch over her face and the Child wiggle up and down on her lap as she tapped her feet softly, but excitedly against the floor. </p><p>He saw hyperspace so often he didn't get a chance to react to it, nor understand what a treat and privilege it was to see it so often. He turned his chair to face the women in his cockpit, causing Vena to sit back in her chair. Judging by the short widening of her eyes, she hadn't noticed she even leaned forward to see more of the view. She settled her excitement, now knowing he was facing her, but her eyes were still wide with wonder as she looked past him and kept watching them fly through hyperspace. He wanted to sit there and watch Vena's grey eyes marvel over the swirling colors of hyperspace, but they needed to talk. </p><p>"I'm going to kill the Imp that's in charge of tracking the Kid."</p><p>Vena's eyes snapped to him, sobering up entirely. Any trace of excitement she had was gone and replaced with worry. She looked over at Cara, who nodded in affirmation, then she returned her gaze back to the Mandalorian. </p><p>He continued, "The Leader of the Bounty Hunter's Guild on Nevarro contacted me. Said he's planning a trap to kill the Imp in charge and he needs me and the Kid."</p><p>"And you just agreed?"</p><p>"It's better I kill him than let the Kid spend the rest of his life in fear," decided the Mandalorian. </p><p>"So, what, <em>you're</em> the bait?"  asked Vena dubiously. She looked at the Child in her lap. "You both are?"</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>Vena looked over at Cara. "Should I just steal the baby? Genuinely?"</p><p>Cara sighed, looking over the Mandalorian while she shook her head. "He's doing his best," she sighed. "He's on the right track, V. Might not be the best way to go about it--offering up the Kid or himself, but it'll get the job done and the Imp killed, I think."</p><p>Vena pinched the bridge of her nose, but ultimately rolled her eyes and accepted the plan, though she wasn't fond of it.</p><p>Cara laughed and looked at the Mandalorian. "Does your contact need to vet us?"</p><p>"Doesn't know you're coming," he said. </p><p>"Really?" asked Cara, her brow raised. She looked over at Vena as she rolled her eyes again, clearly not pleased with the Mandalorian's plan. "That could be a problem?"</p><p>"It won't be, but if it is, that's his problem."</p><p>"So you kidnap me from Sorgan, whisk me off to Nevarbo, put the kid in danger, then murder someone?" asked Vena for clarification. "Was that your plan? That's the plan?"</p><p>"Nevarro," he corrected her. "And I didn't kidnap you. You came willingly. Cara was witness to that."</p><p>Cara rolled her eyes at their flirting. Or, attempts to, she supposed. She couldn't handle being witness to the cringe that came with their obvious but secretive attraction to each other. "No offense to you, V, but how does Vena fit into all of this anyway? Baby patrol?" </p><p>"She's my ears," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>Vena couldn't help but be warmed by him deeming her necessary to the task. She didn't say much of it besides making sure he saw the thankful nod she sent his way.</p><p>Not long after he spoke, he moved to stand in front of Vena, hands out for the Child. He turned the chair back towards the front of the ship and placed the Child in it, then mentioned to Cara he wanted to show her his weapons locker. The two climbed down the ladder to the ships bay, and Vena did too, after hesitating leaving the Child alone and unsupervised. He must have known she was hesitating up there in the cockpit; he called up to her that he would be alright, so she followed he and Cara down the ladder, deciding to trust in him. After all, he had been with the Child alone for almost two months and they were both still alive and well. </p><p>Mando walked them to the wall adjacent to the ladder, gesturing at his arrangement of weapons. Vena couldn't tell the difference between any of them. Some were small, some were long, some were large. She knew they were blasters. She noticed an array of grenades. Maybe she would ask the names of the weapons one days, but she felt the same way she did about ships--as long as they worked, it didn't matter if she knew the name of the weapon, so long as she knew how to use it. </p><p>Cara reached immediately for one of the blasters. "Do you trust the contact?" she wondered. </p><p>Vena moved to stand beside the Mandalorian, watching Cara examine some of the blasters. He adjusted his hands to his belt and turned his helmet towards Vena as she stepped beside him, tilting his visor towards the wall of weaponry. Vena shook her head, but shot him a thankful smile. </p><p>"Not particularly," he responded to Cara. "He and I had a run-in last time I was there on some Guild Business."</p><p>"So then why are we going?" she asked. She adjusted the blaster in her hand to its post on the wall. She squinted her eyes at the wall, then grabbed another.</p><p>"I don't have a choice. You saw what happened on Sorgan. They'll just keep sending hunters and the Kid will never be safe until the Imp is dead."</p><p>Vena looked over at him. She had to wonder why he was so adamant on protecting the Child, because she knew it must go deeper than him simply being a helpless creature. Most beings in the galaxy would never have gone as far as the Mandalorian had gone to keep this Child safe, nor put their live on the line willingly to guarantee him protection. She and Cara were aiding, yes, but they were only doing just that. The Mandalorian barely had to ask for them to aid him; both women offered because it was the right thing to do, to protect a Child, but the Mandalorian held more of an attachment to the Child than she and Cara did, it went beyond what was simply the moral action to take. </p><p>"And you're okay with bringing him back there?" asked Cara. </p><p>"Not really," he admitted to them. He finally looked over at Vena when he noticed her eyes on him. She quickly looked away. "That's why I'm bringing you both."</p><p>The ship jerked suddenly, knocking all three of them off balance and tumbling across the bay floor. Several alarms started to blare, red and white hazard lights started to flash warnings through the bay. As soon as Vena had caught herself on the opposite wall, the ship tilted abruptly, sending her across the bay. She hit the opposite wall with her hands first, raising the heel of her boot up quickly to stop her momentum. It didn't matter much, though, because the Mandalorian tumbled right into her, pressing her body against the wall.</p><p>In another moment, under different circumstances, Vena thought she might have enjoyed the close proximity of their bodies, his heavy breathing in her ears, or the way his hands were on top of her own, clutching onto the brown netting against the wall. </p><p>Before the ship could tilt again, Vena breathed out a quick reply: "I told you he would touch something."</p><p>"Yeah, yeah," he huffed in her ear.</p><p>He pushed himself off of her body and made a run for the ladder. No sooner than his hand grasping a rod of the ladder, the ship tilted again, only this time, Vena was clutching onto the netting and didn't move much. She looked around for Cara, who had rushed to the ladder as well, and was climbing up behind the Mandalorian. </p><p>Vena waited until the ship remained still for more than a minute before she let go of the netting. She rushed up the ladder, seeing the Child giggling mischeviously in Cara's arms, while the Mandalorian was sat in the front seat, his hands moving across the panel to settle the various alarms and settings the Child had adjusted. </p><p>Vena poked his tiny green nose, an angry expression scrunching her face. "Didn't he tell you not to touch things?"</p><p>The Child cooed and reached for her, trying to snuggle into her montrals, when he was in her arms. Vena rolled her eyes and slid him down her waist. He still reached for the ends of her lekku, but a single quick glance down at him halted his fingers. He leaned his head against her chest instead, his arms tucked at his sides. </p><p>"If V is planning to work with us, then we need someone to watch that thing," suggested Cara. "Do you have anybody else you know?"</p><p>The Mandalorian nodded. "I know someone."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Onward</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Arvala-7," read Vena, peering closer to the dashboard in front of the Mandalorian. She was still in her seat towards the back of the cockpit, but she was alone with the Mandalorian, after having asked him to call her when they were close to dropping out of hyperspace. She glanced up through the window, seeing an orange planet ahead. "Let me guess: a desert planet?"</p><p>"Yes," said the Mandalorian.</p><p>It was quiet between them for a few moments as Vena didn't ask anymore questions. She decided to hold back, in case he needed to focus on breaking through the atmosphere slowly. She had flown with few pilots who needed silence to concentrate and she had flown with pilots who needed stimulation in order to properly remember how to break through the atmosphere without killing all aboard--she didn't know where the Mandalorian fell on that scale just yet.</p><p>But it was he who spoke first. "Have you seen many?"</p><p>"Desert planets?" clarified Vena, and he nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I spent some time on Savareen. Tried Tattooine, too, but didn't really take to it."</p><p>The Mandalorian paused. "You traveled Mumble's Turnaround?"</p><p>Vena laughed. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't," she said, continuing to hone in on the mystery of her past. Maybe some part of her wanted to tell him more about herself, but she didn't, by something she could only refer to as a reflex. He always sounded, to her, like it was business only, like he didn't ask just to make conversation or to know her.. He was a bounty hunter, she kept remembering. He was bound to ask intrusive questions, get information, even if he did want to simply know and not know for a specific intent. His tone of voice just never changed. It was hard to tell his intent behind asking the question.</p><p>He accepted her answer, not keen on pushing. "Tattooine is rather remote, besides the port cities," he decided to say, instead.</p><p>"And it's crawling with Jawas and Sandpeople," said Vena distastefully.</p><p>"I don't mind the Sandpeople," he admitted to her. "They're not bad people. Just traditionalists, really."</p><p>Vena nodded. "Hm. Noted," she said, intrigued. "How do you know? You speak their language?"</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"Do you speak a lot of languages?"</p><p>He couldn't help the smirk on his lips. He was sure, even though the modulator, she could hear the smirk: "Maybe I do, maybe I don't."</p><p>Vena huffed, though it was clear she found his answer amusing. She unbuckled her seatbelt and reached to rest a hand on his shoulder, on top of the cool beskar armor, then he heard her footsteps as she went down the ladder.</p><p>He landed the Razor Crest a small walk away from Kuiil's home. He noticed the Ugnaught exiting his home to settle the startled Blurrgs. He sent Kuiil a slight wave through the windshield before he powered down his ship and climbed down the ladder to join Cara, Vena, and the Child. He led them down the ramp and to meet Kuiil, who walked to meet them all halfway. Before Kuiil said anything, he waved his hand, wanting them to follow him into his small home.</p><p>The three had to duck underneath the front door, but were able to stand somewhat normally once inside of the Ugnaught's home. Vena took a seat at the table Kuiil waved them off to, and Cara sat beside her. The Mandalorian stood near the table, but declined the invitation to sit, allowing his seat to hold the Child, instead.</p><p>Kuiil introduced himself to Cara and Vena, then cast his eyes on the Child. "It hasn't grown much."</p><p>"I think it might be a strand-cast," said the Mandalorian.</p><p>"I don't think it was engineered. I've worked in the Gene Farms. This one looks evolved. Too ugly," said Kuiil bluntly.</p><p>Vena felt offended on behalf of the Child. "Well I think he's cute."</p><p>Kuiil turned his big eyes to her. "Are you a Twi'lek?"</p><p>"Togruta," said the Mandalorian and Vena together, glancing at one another, after they accidentally spoke together. Vena flushed and lowered her gaze.</p><p>"This one, on the other hand, looks like she was farmed in the Cytocaves of Nora," said Kuiil, looking at Cara.</p><p>"This is Cara Dune," said the Mandalorian. "She was a Shock Trooper."</p><p>"You were a Dropper?" asked Kuiil, somewhat shocked.</p><p>"Did you serve?" asked Cara.</p><p>"On the other side, I'm afraid," admitted Kuiil. "But I'm proud to say that I paid out my Clan's debt, and now I serve no one but myself."</p><p>"That's wonderful," said Vena, offering him a smile.</p><p>A noise outside of his house brought their attention to the opened door. Bending at its knees to duck through the door was a tall, dark silver droid.</p><p>Vena barely acknowledged the new presence before the Mandalorian and Cara’s blasters were out and aimed at the droids head. Seeing their reactions, Vena was quick to snatch the Child from the seat beside her and tucked his head to her chest, turning her body away from the droid.</p><p>"Would anyone care for some tea?" the droid asked, and it was then they noticed the tea tray in his arms.</p><p>Kuiil raised his hands at Cara and the Mandalorian, lowering them slowly, wanting them to calm down. "Please lower your blasters. He will not harm you."</p><p>"That thing is programmed to kill the baby,” said the Mandalorian gruffly.</p><p>"Not anymore," promised Kuiil. "It was left behind in the wake of your destruction. I found it laying where it fell, devoid of all life. I recovered the flotsam and staked it as my own in accordance with the Charter of the New Republic. Little remained of its neural harness. Reconstruction was quite difficult, but not impossible. It had to learn everything from scratch. This is something that cannot be taught with the twist of a spanner. It requires patience and reptition. I spent day after day reinforncing its development with patience and affirmation. it developed a personality as its expriences grew."</p><p>The Mandalorian barely listened to Kuiil. He hadn’t let a moment of silence go by before he demanded to know: “Is it still a hunter?”</p><p>“No. But it will protect."</p><p>The Mandalorian stared at the droid for a long time. Vena watched him, and not the droid, barely having to tune inwards to feel his unease. She had never seen him interact with a droid before, but based on the context, she assumed the droid was a bounty hunter, and not one the Mandalorian particularly liked.</p><p>Efficient, though, she thought—a droid as a bounty hunter. She felt a bit safer knowing the Mandalorian was capable of killing a droid programmed to hunt and destroy.</p><p>"Tea?" asked the droid again.</p><p>The Mandalorian sighed and placed his blaster back into its holster. Cara followed his lead.</p><p>Vena set the Child in her lap. Though she felt a bit awkward doing so, she nudged her boot into the Mandalorian’s heel, asking with her eyes for a cup of tea. His chest inhaled a quick, irritated sigh, but he grabbed a tea cup delicately in his gloved fingers and set it down in front of Vena.</p><p>"Kuiil, can we speak outside?" he asked.</p><p>The Ugnaught nodded and they left together.</p><p>Vena watched them go. She sighed when they were out of ear shot, glancing at the droid, but ultimately looking at Cara.</p><p>“Do you think I need to work on my reflexes?” she mumbled self-consciously. Cara raised an eyebrow at her as she sipped her tea, causing Vena to continue. “I just—you and him, you both move so fast and so, like, in sync, and I’m just—“</p><p>"You grabbed the baby,” encouraged Cara, placing a hand on the Togruta’s hand to pause her rambling. "Relax, V. We know in a time of need, you can step up. You got aim with a blaster. What's your worry?"</p><p>"That he's wrongly putting faith in me," sighed Vena. The Child cooed, tilting his head against her chest to look up at her, seemingly listening to her worries. </p><p>Cara rolled her eyes. “If he didn’t trust in you, he wouldn’t have asked you to join.”</p><p>Vena turned her head when she sensed the Mandalorian approaching. He and Kuiil announced the Ugnaught would join them.</p><p>They left soon after the decision was made. Kuiil insisted on bringing the droid, IG-11, Vena learned, and his three Blurggs. Though the Mandalorian was not pleased with any of the additions, he separated a portion of the bay for the Blurggs, sectioning them off with netting that kept them confined to one part of the Crest. </p><p>Knowing the jump from Arvala-7 to Nevarro would require lightspeed, Vena joined the Mandalorian in the cockpit again, watching him push the lever into hyperspace, then finding her way back down to the bay when they were successfully cruising. </p><p>Vena found herself drawn to the Blurrgs. Emotions radiating off of beings typically had to be severe in order for her to sense it without trying, and the Blurrgs were as anxious as ever. <br/><br/>She sat on the floor in front of the netting, her fingers slipping through the rectangle-shaped holes. She watched them all shift uncomfortable between their two large feet, wail, groan, knock their heads into each other. It wasn’t necessarily the proximity between the three of them, it was simply an unfamiliar surrounding. The Blurrgs had never been in space before, let alone a ship. They were just scared. </p><p>She laid her palm flat against the netting. It was impossible to make eye contact with all three of them, which usually helped to transfer energy, so Vena tried to project her calm energy towards them, hopefully, surrounding all three of them. </p><p>"May I ask what you're doing?" asked Kuiil, and Vena jumped. She hadn’t acknowledged the signal from her montrals, too enticed in focusing on projecting her energy. With Kuiil’s presence, the Blurrgs started to moan again, and she sighed.</p><p>"Just observing," she said, lowering her hand to her lap. "I've never seen them before."</p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">She excused herself to dig through one of her bags. She brought out her leather journal and found a pen at the bottom. She returned to sitting beside the Blurrgs, her back against a heavy crate, her legs stretched in front of her. </span>
</p><p>She opened the journal on her lap and started to write about the new creatures. She drew a small sketch of their odd shape.</p><p>Vena paused when she felt a hand on her elbow, the Child, and she welcomed him into her lap. He leaned against her chest and held the bottom of her journal in his hands.</p><p>"This is a Blurrg," she started to read to him, softly. She was sure the others couldn’t hear her over the groans of the Blurrgs and the engine running. "They're large, only have two legs, and Mando told me the males don't survive the mating process."</p><p>The Child’s ears perked up with surprise. </p><p>"Right?" asked Vena.</p><p>"So, what were you up to on Sorgan?" she heard the Mandalorian ask.</p><p>Vena looked over to where the Mandalorian and Cara sat at a table a little ways behind her. Kuiil was near them, leaning against one of the ships wall, carving a design into a rock with a small knife. </p><p>"Making people pay up, mostly. Lot of people on Sorgan thought they could take me,” said Cara, humored. There was a pause, then she laughed. “Oh, what do you think you can, too?”</p><p>"We betting?" asked the Mandalorian. </p><p>"Of course," said Cara.</p><p>Vena glanced over when she heard both of them grunting. Their elbows were on the table, their hands together. Cara seemed to be pushing the Mandalorian's hand down towards the table, further than he could push hers. </p><p>"I got you, Mando," breathed Cara. </p><p>He wasn't done. "Care to double the bet?" he managed to get out. </p><p>The Child ducked his head underneath Vena's arm to look at what she was looking at. She grabbed him before he could tumble out of her lap and turned her body towards the Mandalorian and Cara, setting him on the floor against her crossed legs. Vena's gaze was overlooking where the Child sat on the floor. She noticed Cara's face scrunch, her grip loosen, and she raised an eyebrow, wondering if it was a ploy to win the game. But no sooner than she thought so, Cara ripped her hand from the Mandalorian's and both of her hands went to her throat, her mouth was open, her chest was heaving, gasping for air. </p><p>Vena moved to help Cara, but the Mandalorian's helmet whipped to where she sat. He stood so fast the chair underneath him fell over. He ran for Vena, sliding to his knees in front of her, but his hands did not touch her, though she braced for the impact. His hands shot out in front of the Child, shaking his helmet, snapping, "No! No, no, stop, stop! We're friends, Cara is my friend!" at the Child. He whipped around when Cara inhaled a deep breath. He turned back to the Child, who had abruptly fallen over. </p><p>Vena made the connection before the others had. Her panicked eyes looked into the darkness of the Mandalorian's visor, and she knew. The Child had done that. </p><p>"Very curious," said Kuiil, when he understood, too. </p><p>Vena scooped his tired body from the floor and set him in her lap, his head on her kneecaps. She bent her head over him, holding a hand on his stomach. One of his hands reached to lay on top of hers. His eyes were blinking, slowly, up at her. She raised her brow at him, sending a warm feeling flowing from her hand and into his little body, sending feelings of serenity and peace, trying to subdue his own hostility. He maintained eye contact with her, trying to focus, and she easily subdued him while he was so weak. </p><p>"Curious? It almost killed me!"</p><p>The Mandalorian was still close to her. He was on his knees beside her, his helmet tilted down to her lap to watch the Child. He had no idea what Vena was doing. Calming him down, he assumed. He thought nothing more of it. He was more focused on watching her technique to calm him, hoping he could emulate it, if ever necessary. The month and a half he was away from her, he thought about her interactions with the Child more than he cared to admit. She was a natural with him. He was nowhere near a natural with child caretaking. </p><p>Vena's eyes snuck to his visor when the Child closed his eyes, demanding his attention. "He was just trying to protect you," she said softly to him, only him. </p><p>The Mandalorian started to reply, but was interrupted by a realization from Kuiil: "The story you told me about the Mudhorn now makes sense."</p><p>"What story?" asked Vena. </p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">The Mandalorian turned back to her. "How do you know he was trying to protect me?" he asked her quietly.</span>
</p><p>"What story?" pressed Vena.</p><p>He felt Cara and Kuiil's eyes on him, too, his story more pertintent to what they had just seen than what quiet conversation Vena and he were trying to have. He and Vena stared at each other, waiting for the other to break, but ultimately, it was him. He huffed, leaning away from her. He hadn't even realized he had leaned in. "I...I had to retrieve an egg from a Mudhorn's nest. I was in rough shape. Concussed, stomped on... The Kid was watching. The Mudhorn charged me, and...All of a sudden, it was in the air. Floating."</p><p>He was barely speaking to Cara and Kuiil. He watched Vena's reaction as he spoke, the way her chin tilted up further at him when he expressed what the Child had done. She asked him if he thought the Child raised the Mudhorn into the air, and he told her there was no doubt in his mind--the Kid <em>had</em>. </p><p>"I've heard rumors of what it does," said Kuiil, and Vena and the Mandalorian turned their attention to him. </p><p>"What, when you worked for the Empire?" snapped Cara. </p><p>"When I was <em>sold</em> to the Empire, in indentured servitude."</p><p>"Yet somehow, you walk free."</p><p>"I bought my freedom through the skill of my hands and the labor of three of your human lifetimes," said Kuiil, his voice deep and demanding. His rage towards Cara caused the IG unit to stand in anticipation. Kuiil lowered his hand at the droid, settling it, but he still spoke to Cara with distaste. "Do not cast doubt upon that of what I am nor whom I shall serve."</p><p>The Mandalorian stood, stepping between the two. "Tell you what," he said, raising his arm and calling the Child's silver pod to his side. "Can you pad this container so the Child can sleep better?"</p><p>Kuiil nodded. His tone was softer when he spoke to the Mandalorian. "I shall fabricate another one. Then, perhaps this Dropper can see how one can win their freedom with the skill of ones hands."</p><p>Cara rolled her eyes. She stood and climbed the ladder to the cockpit, distancing herself from the others. Kuiil took the IG Unit and the pod to the clear opposite end of the ship, doing essentially the same. Their distance left Vena and the Mandalorian in the bay together, the Child still resting on Vena's outstretched legs. Her hand was still on his stomach. She had returned to maintaining his gaze. As he watched them, he noticed her breathing at the same time he was, her chin rising to indicate he take a breath, then her chin lowering as they exhaled together. </p><p>When she focused on him and his energy, she felt his anger. His fear. They started to subdue when she started to project her calmness to him. He was working with her, breathing with her, as she told him there was no need for fear for the Mandalorian's life. They could not speak through their connection, but they could feel, and it didn't take a genius to figure out how strongly the Child felt for the Mandalorian and how desperately he wanted him safe. Choking Cara was one thing, but raising an entire creature into the air was another severe usage of his power, of which she could feel he had so much of it in his tiny body, just looking for a way to be used. </p><p>It was confirmed, then, Vena noted, that the Child did have the same abilities she did. He was certainly stronger than her and better at the physical aspect of their power, where Vena was better trained at the emotional or mental abilities that came with what they could do. She didn't know very much. But what she did know, how to maintain peace, how to breathe, she was going to try to teach him as well as she could without words and just feelings, just demonstrations. She had to try. He couldn't be choking everybody who could harm the Mandalorian. He would be tired all of the time or they would be caught--he needed to learn peace of mind. </p><p>Vena noticed the Mandalorian crouch beside her and the Child. She paid him no attention, hoping he would notice her focusing on the Child and just keep a watchful eye instead of speaking, but he did not. He asked her, even though it was quiet and it was soft, what she was doing with him. </p><p>"We're breathing," she mumbled. </p><p>"How did you know he was protecting me?" he continued. </p><p>"I felt his fear," she said shortly. </p><p>"And you can feel that because you're a Togruta," he said, clarifying more than stating.</p><p>Vena had to nod. Although their crew had now seen what the Child was able to do, Vena sensed their fear of him, even the Mandalorian's, now matter how much he tried to hide it from her. He wore it on his surface, showed it, with how fast he tried to subdue the Child's power. They feared a Child; she didn't want to imagine how they would feel about her, even if she did tell them how powerless she was compared to the Child. </p><p>"Can you feel everyone's emotions?"</p><p>Vena nodded again. It seemed they switched roles. Vena was the one neglecting to divulge. Again, he seemed to be more talkative with her than with anyone else she had seen him interact with. She wondered if he didn't have the Child to be asking about, if he would still do the same. </p><p>"You didn't seem bothered by his actions."</p><p>Vena turned her head slightly at his comment. She quickly thought back to the moment the Child choked Cara, replaying it, trying to remember how she did and didn't react. From his judgement of the situation, he wasn't wrong. Vena hadn't reacted much besides trying to care and calm down the Child. She cleared her throat, shrugging her shoulders, but she knew from her body language that he would be able to tell his comment made her uncomfortable. </p><p>"I don't fear him, if that's what you're implying," she decided to say. </p><p>The Mandalorian said nothing more. He only felt discouraged after her statement; it served as not only her answer but a clear indicator to why he would never feel capable of caring for the Child. After the Kid had lifted the Mudhorn, the Mandalorian feared him. It took him several days to understand that not only was the Kid magic, but he used magic to save him. And he had just done it again, showing the Mandalorian that his fear was unnecessary, because the Kid wanted to protect him, not use his power on him. He watched Vena immediately clutch the Child and sooth him, even after she had just watched him choke their friend, and he could think nothing more than his own inaction. </p><p>He asked her about her non-reaction because he was, yet again, mesmerized by her. Her bravery, really, to want to protect and care for a strange, small creature, with a man who was nothing like her, but trying to be. He was trying to learn from her. He had to, or he had to make a decision about his place to protect the Child, otherwise. </p><p>Vena had no idea what was going on in the Mandalorian's head. She didn't have to focus on him to feel his confusion, but she quickly blocked herself from allowing his emotions to radiate to her. She didn't need to know what he was feeling. She was confident in her statement to him and believed it would bring no more indication that she was like the Child and she had to move on from the thought before her own fear consumed her. </p><p>The Mandalorian didn't stay for much longer. He asked her if she was alright to watch the Child and she agreed wordlessly. Though he sighed, he stood and left her alone with the Child while he went to join Cara in the cockpit. </p><p>Vena tried not to be bothered by his clear frustration. She couldn't tell if it was with her, or the Child, or the situation, and although she wanted to call him, ask him what was wrong, she knew it was better if she didn't. For the first time in her life, she felt as though someone could break her. If he asked her, truthfully, about any of her past, she didn't know if she could lie to him. He was a good man, Maker, he was, and it was why she was drawn to him on Sorgan, why she helped him, why she felt safe leaving the planet with him. She had never felt such a fast understanding of comfort between herself and someone else before. Maybe it was because he tended to be quiet and reserved, there was less of a chance of him asking about her life. Some part of her was so used to people wondering about her, so quick to lie, that when she was with him and he almost refused to speak, she felt inclined to. </p><p>Vena looked down at the sleeping Child in her lap. "Good idea," she muttered, and shrugged off her jacket, balling it up and using it as a pillow. She needed silence from her own mind before she went crazy. She adjusted the Child onto her chest, laying on her back, draped one arm over his body and the other over her eyes, and she fell asleep. </p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>Vena woke to the Mandalorian crouching beside her head. He called her name a few times before she woke up, sliding her arm down and peaking up at him. He apologized for having to wake her but he wanted to talk about a few things before they landed, which, after she asked, he told her was within the next few minutes. She removed her arm from over her face and glanced down at the Child. He was still sound asleep on her chest. She extended her free hand to the Mandalorian, asking him for help to sit up, and he slowly helped her sit up against the wall, as she repositioned the Child to lay in her arms. He moved a little, his hands reaching up and out in a small stretch where he patted his little hand against one of her lekku and Vena nudged his hand away from grabbing it, brushing her lekku over her shoulder and away from him. He continued to sleep. </p><p>"Nevarro was under Empire control during the War," he started, talking softly to her. "They stayed after the War was over, less in numbers, but still remained. Cara thinks the Stormtroopers will run once I kill the head Imp, but you need to know that there will be a number of them. More Imps reinforced when I took out the safehouse."</p><p>"When you saved the baby," clarified Vena. </p><p>He nodded. "None of us are exactly pro-Imperial here, but I know you and Cara are rightfully cautious about walking into Imp territory. I've told you all I know about the situation," he admitted to her. Vena nodded thankfully. "I want you behind me, as much as you can be. We need to come up with some soft of signal for you to let me know if you can sense things going poorly or if you can hear people, any of it. Anything suspicious."</p><p>"I'll just touch your arm or something," suggested Vena and he nodded in agreement. "Back up, though, are we going to sneak or are we ambushing?"</p><p>"For now, I don't know. We have to meet with Karga and his Hunters, first. I want you on the Blurgg with me when we meet them," he told her. "Keep your hand on my arm. One squeeze for everything is not okay, two squeezes for everything seems fine."</p><p>Vena nodded. </p><p>"And one last thing," he said. He looked behind him, ensuring they were still relatively secluded from the others. "That IG Unit does not leave the ship under any circumstance."</p><p>Vena nodded. She thought it strange, but neglected to question it. "Got it." </p><p>The Mandalorian nodded. He brought his arm up and called the Child's pod to his side. Vena moved to her feet, examining what extra cushioning Kuiil placed inside of it, then she adjusted the Child away from her chest and placed him into the pod. He resisted the cold padding for a brief moment before the Mandalorian lowered the shield over the pod, placing the Child in darkness, and they heard silence from him. </p><p>Vena stepped away from him to find her bag. She grabbed her journal from the floor, where she had dropped it when the Mandalorian rushed her to stop the Child from choking Cara, and shoved it back into her bag. She found the dark cloak she was looking for and draped it over her shoulders, pushing the hood over her montrals and securing it. She strapped her blaster back into the holster on her leg. She didn't have anything else to bring beside her blaster. She trusted the Mandalorian to carry most of the weaponry, anyway. </p><p>He left the pod unattended while he returned to the cockpit to land the Razor Crest. There was slight turbulence as the landing gear hit the solid ground, then the sound of the engine powering down. Cara and the Mandalorian climbed down the ladder and helped Kuiil unhook the netting that kept the Blurgg's in place. He mounted his own Blurgg, Cara mounted hers, then the Mandalorian hopped onto the last Blurgg, holding his gloved hand out to Vena. </p><p>Vena looked, unsure, at the Blurgg. "Do you mind the extra weight, girl?" she muttered quietly. The Blurgg huffed, a stream of air exiting its mouth as it responded to Vena, but she had no idea what the content of the Blurgg's message was. She sighed. "Well, I am sorry in advance," she said, then took the Mandalorian's hand, and jumped behind him on the creature.  Her hands rested on his waist, loosely, figuring they wouldn't be walking fast enough for her to need to be any closer to him. The minute the Blurgg took a step, and not even down the lowering ramp, Vena clutched onto his hips. She was already tired of sitting on the Blurgg. </p><p>The terrain was rocky surrounding the Razor Crest. Smoke rose from some of the cracks in the ground. Vena leaned closer to the Mandalorian when the Blurrg stepped over a crack in the ground and she saw lava beneath the crack.</p><p>“Don’t let me fall into lava, okay?” she whispered to him.</p><p>“I’ll try.”</p><p>She looked over his shoulder and saw three people ahead of them. A dark-skinned man with a grey goatee, a Weequay that was green, a humanoid with a helmet and long coat, and a shorter man with an apparatus over his head, covered from head to toe, and a spear in his hand. For now, they were equal. Four to four.</p><p>"Sorry for the remote rendezvous, Mando, but things have gotten complicated since you were last here,"greeted the man standing closest to them. Vena had to assume that was Greef Karga. "It appears that introductions are in order. It seems we've both provided a security detail. I recommend the shock trooper guards the ship. These lava fields are lousy with Jawas."</p><p>"She’s coming with me,” said the Mandalorian.</p><p>Karga scoffed. "The town is now run by ex-Empire. If a Rebel Dropper is with us, they'll all get their hackles up."</p><p>"She’s coming."</p><p>"Fine. Fine. At least cover your tattoo, no need to flaunt it,” said Karga, pointing a finger at Cara. He clapped his hands together. “Now, where is the little one?"</p><p>The Mandalorian touched the panel on his arm, sending the pod forward. Vena’s hands tightened nervously around his waist as she watched him. He popped open the pod, revealing the baby to Karga. </p><p>Karga moved forward to see him. “So this little podling is what all the fuss was about,” he said, reaching into the pod.</p><p>Vena moved her hand to her blaster, as did the Mandalorian, as did Cara.</p><p>"What a precious little creature!" he said, examining him.</p><p>Mandos hand fell from his blaster to her thigh. He squeezed it lightly, wanting her attention. </p><p>Vena closed her eyes. She could sense Karga’s irritation, the cautiousness of the Bounty Hunters, the anxiety in the Mandalorian and in herself. She had to move deeper. She took a deep breath, pushing through the Mandalorian, past the Blurrg. She could feel the curiousity of the Child over who the man holding him was. She felt a matching curiousity from the man, but a cautiousness as well.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> But nothing malicious, or anything to cause worry to them. The Child was safe, for now.</span></p><p>"We’re fine," she mumbled back to him.</p><p>He relaxed. </p><p>"I could see why you wouldn't want to harm a hair on its wrinkled little head,” said Karga, placing the Child back in the pod."Well, I am glad this matter will be put to rest once and for all."</p><p>The Mandalorian took his hand from Vena’s leg and applied it to his wrist, closing the pod and bringing the Child back to their side.</p><p>“The sun drops fast on Nevarro. We can walk for a spell, camp out at the riverbank, then make our way into town at first light,” suggested Karga.</p><p>They did just that. The Bounty Hunters walked first, leading, then Karga, then the Blurrgs.</p><p>"Everyone is uneasy," she whispered to the Mandalorian, her lips close to where she imagined his ear was. "It’s hard to single out anyone when everyone is cautious about each other. Tense. But I’m trying."</p><p>"If you feel anything else,” he promoted quietly.</p><p>"I will."</p><p>Karga had been correct. The sun dropped no more than five minutes after they had made it to the riverbank. Karga and his Hunters set up a fire while the Mandalorian and their crew tied up the Blurrg's. One of the Hunters must have caught wildlife; when they had finished with the Blurrgs, an animal was being roasted over the fire. They gathered around the roast, Vena watching the poor creature spin with her nose crinkled and her brow slanted. The Child was on her lap, making some version of the same face she had--pity. But, they both knew the Child would still eat it. Somehow, he was always hungry.</p><p>Vena set the Child back into the pod when Karga passed her a slice of the meat. She was leaning on a rock beside him, his pod low to the ground, and she was tearing the meat into tinier pieces before handing it to him. From her hand, he took the meat and put it into his mouth. She had to watch him eat, ensuring and coaching him to chew, instead of swallowing it whole. </p><p>The Mandalorian took a seat on the rock beside Vena. She looked over and up at him as he sat, flashing him a short smile.  </p><p>"You eat," he encouraged her softly. "I can finish feeding him."</p><p>Vena shrugged. "It's alright. I'm not hungry, anyway," she admitted to him. </p><p>The Mandalorian sighed. He remembered how anxious she was on Sorgan, before they instigated their fight with the Klantoonian's. It seemed she was nervous again. They were in too close proximity to the others for her to admit that blankly to him, but he rested a hand on her shoulder, trying to tell her he understood, and hopefully conveying that it would be alright. She had no need to be nervous, he thought briefly, she could hold her own. And if not, he would be there. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. </p><p>"I guess the little bugger's a carnivore," said Karga as he sat across from them. He noticed both the cloaked woman and the Mandalorian rest their blank glazes on him before turning away; a warning, almost. "Never seen anything like it. They were ready to pay a Kings Ransom for that thing. Must be for some kind of highfalutin menagerie."</p><p>The Mandalorian's attempt to divert conversation away from the Child was obvious. "Lets go over the plan again."</p><p>Vena turned her head back to Karga when she sensed anxiety radiating from him. She lowered her hands to her lap, making sure to nudge the Mandalorian, trying to alert him. He raised and lowered the tip of his boot next to her, acknowledging her finding. </p><p>"We both enter the Common House. We show the Client the bait. We join him at the table. You kill him. "</p><p>The Mandalorian wasn't done. "Tell me about his reinforcements."</p><p>"They're all ex-Empire. As soon as they lose their paycheck, they'll all scatter."</p><p>"And what if they don't?"</p><p>"They will."</p><p>"That's not good enough."</p><p><span class="Apple-converted-space">Karga grumbled. "Fine. I</span>f, for arguments sake, a few of them don't realize that I'm their best path to alterative employment, and they elect to react impulsively, then these three fine Guild Hunters, along with that battle-hardened shock trooper, and that Twi'lek--"</p><p>"Togruta," chimed the Mandalorian and Vena. </p><p>"My apologies," said Karga, nodding at Vena, before he turned back to the Mandalorian. "They will cut down anyone who bucks."</p><p>"How many will there be?"</p><p>"No more than four," said Karga, and Vena knew immediately he was lying by the fear that washed over him, and the way he repositioned himself to stand by the fire. Hecontinued, "He travels with, at most, a fire team. trust me. Nothing can go wrong."</p><p>A fast movement detected by Vena's montrals caused her to throw her arm over the Child's open container and the Mandalorian. Seconds after, she heard Karga scream out in pain, and then she felt the panic radiating from everyone as flying creatures started to swoop in over the campsite. </p><p>The Bounty Hunters were quick to start firing their blasters into the air. Through the sporadic red lighting of the dark sky, only wings of the flying creatures were seen. </p><p>The Mandalorian crouched beside her, closing the Child's pod. He and Vena were back to back, the Child's pod between them, firing their blasters into the air. Vena tried to listen to the signals her montrals were communicating to her, but over the sound of the repetitive firing, it was almost impossible to locate the creatures to accurately aim. </p><p>She heard Kuiil start to yell, whacking his fist against the talons of a creature who had sunk its talons into one of the Blurrgs. Vena turned and fired, hitting the wing, causing it to let out an ear-piercing shriek. She quickly raised her blaster and shot through its head. The creatures body flopped onto the Blurrgs. Both of them were dead. </p><p>Another creature swooped through the campsite, scooping one of Karga's hunters into its claws. As it flew overhead, Cara took on firing after that creature, to no avail, and when Vena looked back to find Kuiil, she noticed another Blurrg was taken, this time, successfully. </p><p>She whipped around when she heard the unmistakable sound of wing fluttering start to close in. She discarded her blaster, turning and tackling the Mandalorian to the ground to save him from the predator about to take him. Instead, Vena was plucked from on top of him, long, skinny talons enclosing around her waist, ripping her from the ground. The Mandalorian was quick to flip himself over and reach for her opened palm, halting the flying creature in the air. Their hands were connected, the only thing keeping her somewhat low in the air, as she struggled in its grip, and he raised his arm as high as he could, igniting his flame thrower at the belly of the creature. It cried out and dropped Vena, causing their hands to break, and her to hit the ground on her back with a loud thud. </p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">Vena pushed herself up, coughing, stretching her hand behind her back to rub at it. "Maker, that hurt," she snapped, already knowing she would be bruised within the hour. </span>
</p><p>The others paid her no mind. The survivors were anxious, blasters in the air, all whipping their heads through the sky to look for any more of those flying beasts. After a few moments of silence, the Mandalorian looked to Vena, she nodded, ensuring the creatures were gone, then he sheathed his blaster and bent down beside her to help. </p><p>"Are you okay?" he asked softly. </p><p>"He isn't," said Vena, instead, nodding at Karga. He was on the ground as well, a bloody arm pressed close to his chest, grunting and moaning in pain that wasn't apparent until there was quiet around the campsite. </p><p>"I didn't ask about Karga," said the Mandalorian.</p><p>Vena looked back at him, mildly shocked by his blunt statement, but she nodded, her face flushing under the scrutiny of his visor. She noticed Cara and Kuiil standing near Karga. A Med Pack was unraveled beside Cara. She injected him with a needle, rolling her eyes when Karga hissed in pain.</p><p>"How bad?" asked the Mandalorian.</p><p>"Bad," admitted Cara. "The poison is spreading fast."</p><p>Karga was struggling to breath. Or, maybe he was being dramatic. Vena didn't know him well enough to tell, yet. "So," he breathed. "This...This is how it happens."</p><p>Cara grabbed gauze from the Med Pack and started to wrap it securely around the top of Karga's arm, ignoring him. She asked for another Med Pack, but the others were silent, admitting to her that she was the only person who had brought one. She grabbed a handheld device from the Pack and shined a red light over the exposed flesh of Karga's arm, illuminating the black lines of poison traveling up the veins on his arms. </p><p>Vena crawled over to Karga on her knees. She sat beside Cara and took his hand in both of hers, resting their conjoined hands on his lap. If this was his end, no matter how dramatic he might have been acting, she knew she could take his mind from the pain with a little focus and empathy. With their hands together, he started to relax. She felt his heartbeat start to slow, from where she held a finger on his wrist. </p><p>She didn't notice the Child had escaped from his pod until his hand was on her knee, breaking her focus. She glanced down to him. His big eyes were staring up at her, his ears back. He wanted something from her. She didn't know what until he held his hand up, trying to reach her and Karga's hands. She moved their hands to her knee, where the Child could reach. </p><p>"Get that thing out of here," snapped Cara.</p><p>Vena didn't react to her. The Mandalorian did nothing, when he saw Vena do nothing. </p><p>"No, he's trying to eat me!" said Karga.</p><p>Vena ignored him, too. She kept her eyes on the Child as his three fingers rested upon Karga's wrist, where he could reach, and he closed his eyes. The wrinkle between his eyes deepened as he concentrated. She glanced up Karga's arm, checking it, and her eyes remained there when she noticed the opened flesh sealing itself back together. The black substance, the poison, dripped from Karga's arm and off of his skin, his healed skin. </p><p>Vena let go of his hand to catch the Child as he wobbled, unsteady and tired. She held him to her chest, raising herself from the ground. She took the Child and distanced him from the others, unsure of what they were going to say or feel in reaction to what he just demonstrated, and unwilling to listen or feel it. She let him heal Karga, because she knew it was the right thing to do, but she wished the Child hadn't. Demonstrating his abilities in front of others so recklessly was probably what got him caught by the Empire in the first place. He had to be more careful, he had to learn to be discrete, if they wanted to keep him safe. There was just no way to convey that to him. And how could she reprimand him for saving someone's life? His heart was in the right place, Vena knew, but she wished she could convey the danger of free usage of his power better to him, before he did something they would regret. </p><p>It was not long before the Mandalorian found her sitting behind a tall rock. The campsite was in sight, the fire bright enough to illuminate a few feet in front of her, but she was far enough out of hearing range that she could not decipher what words were being said. The rock was tall enough for him to lean on, so he did. Vena didn't look up to acknowledge his presence. She kept her head tilted against the rock, her eyes closed, her hands sitting on top of the Child's stomach, but the Mandalorian knew she had heard him approaching. The Child was fighting sleep, on his back, laying on Vena's thighs, and his hands were clutching the index fingers of her hands in his own.</p><p>"You knew what he was going to do, didn't you?" he asked her.</p><p>Vena sighed. "Why ask when you know?"</p><p>"Did he heal you?"</p><p>"Not physically," she told him. She raised her head from the rock and looked down at the Child in her lap. "When we took down the AT-ST, I tried to keep it together, but after, when it was over, I collapsed. I... It was like I just couldn't catch my breath. And he just found me. He took my hands, and then I was fine."</p><p>The Mandalorian wasn't necessarily shocked. The Kid liked her, and it didn't surprise him that he settled her anxiety, or, her panic attack from the confrontation on Sorgan. But the Kid didn't know Karga the same way he knew Vena. He assumed he saved Karga because he was a child, he saw someone hurting and knew he could help, but he had never demonstrated a healing power to the Mandalorian before. It was a new ability he was forced to add to his mental list of all the things the Child could do. So the Child had more abilities, but that wasn't the Mandalorian's focus. Again, he had watched Vena barely react to the Child's ability, almost encourage it, in the way she didn't stop him. Maybe it was intrigue, but the Mandalorian thought differently. He didn't know what he thought it was, but he had to ask her: "Have you ever... <em>Felt</em> anything like him before?"</p><p>"No," she said to him. He didn't know it, but Vena was not lying to him. </p><p>"I owe it to you to be honest," he tried again, truly trying to ask her, and hoping for honesty from her as well. "You left your planet, you're taking this risk by being here for the Kid. I've been honest with you, I need you to be honest with me. Have you encountered a being like him before? Seen what he can do?"</p><p>Vena shook her head. She supposed she wouldn't be lying if she didn't count herself. "No," she told him, maintaining eye contact as well as she could, through his visor. "You know Togruta's are sense-driven. I can just feel him, differently, than you. That's all."</p><p>The Mandalorian's hands fell to his hips. He looked around, through the darkness, then back to her. "Is that why he likes you?"</p><p>"He likes me because I'm <em>me</em>," she said sassily, rolling her eyes. </p><p>"He likes your lekku," he noticed, when the Kid reached for the ends of her lekku yet again. He smiled as Vena squinted at him, her smile switching to a flat line, and the Kid stopped, turning his head away from her. He closed his eyes, probably to avoid her reprimand. </p><p>"He knows he's not supposed to touch," said Vena, raising her eyebrow at the Child in her lap. The Mandalorian said nothing, but his head must have tilted, because she glanced up at him then continued to speak. "They're quite sensitive to touch, actually. I was always told as a Child that allowing someone to touch yours was an intimate act."</p><p>"He likes your bracelet, too, I've noticed," said the Mandalorian.</p><p>"Indeed he does," said Vena. She looked down at her wrist where her dull colored bracelet sat, then looked up at the Mandalorian. "He's lying about their numbers," she said quietly, her eyes moving behind him briefly to signal she meant Karga. "We need to expect more. And assume they will betray us, after what they've seen the Kid do."</p><p>The Mandalorian nodded. "Noted," he acknowledged her. He paused, looking over at the pod beside him. "You gonna hold him the whole night, or are you going to put him back?"</p><p>Vena looked down at the Child. A small, tired smile stretched across her face and she laughed softly. "He's dreaming," she whispered. </p><p>"You can see?" asked the Mandalorian.</p><p>"His thoughts are loud when he sleeps," she told him. Some part of her realized that information was probably beyond what the Mandalorian would believe a Togruta could do, but she couldn't help but be amazed by the Child's mind. She looked at the Mandalorian, the smile reaching her eyes. "He dreams of you, you know."</p><p>"Me?" He was appalled. </p><p>"He likes you."</p><p>The Mandalorian was shocked to hear such information, especially because he didn't do much with the Kid other than reprimand him and keep him alive, but he supposed he was joyed on some level to hear the Kid actually liked him. Mando, however, didn't want to talk much about the Kid after Vena's words. "Can you hear anyone's thoughts?"</p><p>"I misspoke," she muttered. "Not necessarily hear. Just feel. Sometimes, see, but don't worry. I understand your desire to be private. I don't analyze you beyond what you portray of yourself."</p><p>He felt guilty then. Maybe that was her intention, as they both knew the same couldn't be said about him.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> He decided to lower himself to the ground across from her. He sat with his elbows on his knees, his gloved hands loosely together between his legs. Vena watched him, curiously, this time, waiting for a response from him. She didn't normally push or expect responses from him, but he was clear to show discomfort by the thought of his thoughts being read and she wanted him at ease. </span></p><p>"Would you like me to call you something else?" he asked her softly.</p><p>Vena's brow came together, confused by the question, but then she remembered. On Sorgan, when she thought he was going to apprehend her, she snapped at him to not call her by her name. Her face softened, warmed that he remembered what was such a quick and defensive request. She ran through the short time they were together after that, the time they had been together since he picked her up, and she noted that he hadn't called her by her name once. Such a small response, and yet, he followed it, remembered it. It made Vena feel worse about having said it in the first place.</p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">"It's okay," she promised, shaking her head. "Thank you for remembering that, but it's okay. You don't have to--"</span>
</p><p>"Did somebody hurt you?" he interrupted her, his tone flatter than it usually was, serious. "A Mandalorian?"</p><p>Vena couldn't blame him for his guess. She hated how his voice said her name, she had hinted of knowing a little about Mandalorian culture, their violence. She wondered how long he had been thinking about her words, or replaying their interactions in his own head. Maker knew she had been doing the same since the moment he left her sight on Sorgan. </p><p>"No," she told him. "No, no. It's just...Your modulator, it's robotic-sounding. Soulless," she admitted shyly to him. She closed her eyes, her head shaking, and she found herself avoiding his visor. "And I was panicked and I just...It just sounded like the droids-the droids that handled me when I was enslaved. They used to check us in and out of the fields for the day and my name, I just, I-I don't love it the way I used to after that. After only ever hearing droids say my name for years, everyday, your modulator just made me hear it the same."</p><p>So maybe she had the same distaste for droids that he did. He let her words hang in the air, not to make her anxious, but because he was forming his own response. Vena talked so quickly, she could form her thoughts together so quicky and make it sound cohesive. The Mandalorian had a harder time doing so. For the first time in his life, he wanted to speak, but he tried to think about the words that came from his mouth before he spoke to her, to avoid another incident of her fearing him or saying something wrong or any of it. For her, he was trying to be cohesive and, hopefully, friendly to her. </p><p>"I don't like droids," he admitted to her, wondering if she had came to that conclusion on her own. His question was answered when she looked at him, mild interest on her features. "When I was young, my town was raided by droids. Killed most. My parents."</p><p>Vena did the same sigh she had when Cara told her she was from Alderaan. Irritation, sorrow, injustice--all packed into the eyeroll and sigh combination she managed to do. Nevertheless, she looked sincerely to him when she told him, as honestly as possible, that she was sorry. </p><p>The Mandalorian nodded. "Still. I can call you something else. If you'd like."</p><p>Vena shook her head. "No. I was just tense and scared and it brought me back. I got all defensive. Vena is fine."</p><p>"You're sure?"</p><p>Amused, Vena looked over at him. "Vena is good. Promise."</p><p>The Mandalorian nodded, understanding that she was alright with him using her name. He was going to try to refrain from it, still, wanting to avoid any association with the poorly remembered aspects of her life, but he wanted her to know he would have used a different name, if she wished it. </p><p>Vena moved the sleeping Child from her lap and onto her chest, hiking her knees up to create a secure space for her to hold him. She settled her arms underneath his bottom, supporting him, and her chin rested on the top of his head. The Mandalorian started to notice her eyes start to blink, slower and slower, and the relaxation of her shoulders as time went on and the night grew darker and their conversation died out.</p><p>"Are you going to put him back in the pod?" he asked her softly. He wanted to encourage her to sleep. </p><p>Vena barely opened her eyes. "He's warm," she mumbled.</p><p>"You could sleep by the fire," suggested the Mandalorian, rather obviously. </p><p>"I'll keep my distance from Karga's men," she muttered. She opened one eye, finding him already looking at her. "We can sleep in shifts, if you want."</p><p>"You go ahead," he said. </p><p>"You need to sleep, too," she muttered, though her eye closed. She snuggled into the Child, and he did the same back to her. </p><p>The Mandalorian said nothing in response to her. She was sleeping within minutes, curled up with the Kid, and the Mandalorian looked past the rock she was slumped against to find Cara across the campsite. Cara nodded at him, signaling that she would take watch. The Mandalorian moved quietly to sit beside Vena, leaving space between them, but within an arms distance. He hoped to block some of the wind blowing her way. He leaned on the rock, crossing his legs and his arms, then closed his eyes. The nice thing about wearing the helmet was that no one could usually tell when he was asleep or awake. </p><p>-</p><p>The sun woke him the next morning, before anyone else had. He noticed the sun causing the others to stir and begrudgingly wake, even Cara, who had fallen asleep during her watch. He felt slight panic at the fact that no one had kept watch, but, everyone survived, so he couldn't really be upset. He looked over to find Vena and the Child. Somehow overnight, she had ended on her side, her head near his thigh, her knees curled up, and the Child had crawled underneath her cloak, snuggled directly under her chin, with only his small nose sticking out of the neckline of her cloak. Vena's hood was over her face, blocking the sun, which was why she was the last one awake. </p><p>The Mandalorian decided to leave them sleeping. He rose quietly as to not disturb the two and walked back to the others, who didn't say a word about where he had gone to for the night. With Karga awake, they packed what little they had brought out, Cara helped Kuiil with the single Blurrg, then when they were ready to continue the walk to the city, the Mandalorian returned to wake the Child and Vena. </p><p>He crouched beside her head, his helmet tilted as he looked down at her peaceful face. He mumbled a soft acknowledgement to wake her and when that did nothing, he reached for her kneecap, placing his palm on it and tapping it lightly. Vena's eyes fluttered open. When she peaked out from under her cloak and noticed the Mandalorian looking down on her, she rolled her eyes. </p><p>"Really? Awake time already?" she mumbled. </p><p>He smiled. He nodded. </p><p>Vena noticed the weight against her chest. She wiggled her arms out from underneath the Child and pushed herself up, unfortunately, giving a rude awakening to the Child, who babbled unhappily at the abrupt sunlight, his forehead scrunched and his eyes blinking profusely to adjust. She put him into the pod next to the Mandalorian before he could start to fuss and he closed it. They waited for a moment, silent, to ensure he went back to sleep before Vena started to stretch. </p><p>She ran her hands over her face. "Did you at least get some sleep?" she wondered. </p><p>"Yes."</p><p>She peaked an eye out from between her fingers as they dragged down her face. "Are you lying?"</p><p>"No," he promised her, smiling again. She wouldn't know it, but he found the concept foreign to his face. Somewhat unnatural, no matter how small it was. He stood and held his hands out to help her stand. <br/><br/></p><p>Vena looked around, stretching again, and noticed the others ready and looking in their direction expectantly. She whipped back around to the Mandalorian, her stretch over, her eyes wide. "Am I the last one awake? Why didn't you wake me up?"</p><p>"Technically, the Kid is the last one awake," he said. He placed one hand on his belt and held the other out, toward the awaiting group. </p><p>Vena glared at him but started to walk towards them. She tried to walk fast enough to leave distance between them, clearly not happy with his decision to allow her to sleep in, but he didn't care about her irritation. She was embarrassed to have not aided in packing up the campsite, despite how little she knew they had brought. She would get over it, he knew, and talk to him again in no time at all.  </p><p>The Mandalorian caught up to her easily. "Thank you," he said to her, when they brought up the end of the group and Karga started to lead them away from the campsite. </p><p>Vena looked over at his feet walking beside her, but kept her head down. The Mandalorian just waited, knowing she would want to ask what for, and although it took several minutes, when she huffed and asked the question, he smiled again. Something about her irritation amused him. Maybe because he knew it wasn't real. </p><p>"You saved me last night. Pushing me out of the way," he reminded her. "You could have been hurt, but thank you, either way."</p><p>Vena grumbled underneath her breath. "Well, if I thought I was going to get hurt, I wouldn't have done it."</p><p>"Yeah?" he asked.</p><p>Vena noticed his playful tone and snapped her head to him, her brow together. He was testing her, she knew then, by his tone of voice, and she pointed a finger at his helmet, her nose scrunched. "You're already on my nerves for <em>embarrassing</em> me. Watch it!"</p><p>"So don't let you sleep in, then?" he clarified. "I thought letting people sleep in made them less irritable."</p><p>"Then I guess I'm just the exception," she snapped back, squinting her eyes at him. He continued to stare at her, too, smirking, and knowing he was going to win against anyone who tried to stare down his visor. She rolled her eyes and turned her attention ahead. She turned her head, trying to conceal the smile breaking across her face, but he managed to see it. "You're something else, Mando."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Information Overload</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"You were right," said the Mandalorian. He, Cara, and Vena were walking in the same stride together, a short distance away from where Karga and his remaining two Hunters were leading. They were leaned together, walking and whispering, and the Mandalorian had seen enough of it. </p><p>"You think they're having second thoughts?" wondered Cara. </p><p>"Could be," said the Mandalorian. "Vena?"</p><p>"Karga feels certainty about something," she told them, sensing his surface feelings. </p><p>The Mandalorian nodded. "Need your eyes, Cara."</p><p>"I'm watching."</p><p>They walked for a long time. Much longer than Vena expected. She blocked out whatever reasoning Karga and Mando had mentioned when discussing how far he had to park the Razor Crest and instead was just repeatedly cursing at both of them in her mind. The aching at the arch of her feet was enough to turn her irritable. She didn't know how anyone else was surviving the walk without a complaint or any discomfort. She wore her discomfort so clearly on her face that Cara promised her a new pair of boots when all of this was finished. Something to look forward to, Cara had promised, and Vena only huffed in response. </p><p>At the foot of a ledge, a positioning where they could now see the city from a distance, Karga came to a stop. His Hunters broke away from him, separating, while Vena, the Mandalorian, and Cara continued towards Karga, placing themselves at an equal distance from both the Hunters and Karga. Kuiil stayed back, on top of his Blurrg, surveying from a distance. Vena took a step closer to the pod where the Child resided. </p><p>"Well," said Karga loudly. "Guess this is it." </p><p>Vena felt the movement of the Hunters behind them and her hand slapped to the Mandalorian's, but before he could react to the Hunters, Karga had turned quickly on his heel and shot both of the Hunters dead. Before the second was even shot, Cara and the Mandalorian had drawn their own blasters, thanks to Vena's warning, and aimed them at Karga. </p><p>"There's something you should know," he said, returning his blaster to his holster. He approached them, his hands raised in surrender, but passed them to kick the blasters away from the hands of the dead Hunters. He turned to face the trio. "The plan was to kill you and take the Kid."</p><p>Cara and the Mandalorian were not phased by his words. Their blasters remained on his head. </p><p>"But after what happened last night, I couldn't go through with it," he said, but the two remained unmoving. "Go on. You can gun me down here and now and it wouldn't violate the Code. But if you do, this child will never be safe."</p><p>"We'll take our chances," Cara decided. </p><p>"The Imperial client is obsessed with obtaining this asset," Karga tried to reason. He turned his focus to the Mandalorian. "You tried to run, but where did it get you?"</p><p>Cara glanced over at the Mandalorian. "This is ridiculous."</p><p>"Perhaps you should let him speak," said Kuiil. </p><p>The Mandalorian said nothing to Kuiil or Cara. He continued to look at Karga. Clearly, his mind on the situation hadn't yet been made up, by the way he neglected to respond to Kuiil or Cara, but still retained his blaster on Karga's head.</p><p>Karga took his chance. "We both need the Client to be eliminated. Let me take the Child to him and then you--"</p><p>"No," said the Mandalorian, Cara, and Vena together. Cara continued, "Let's just kill him and get out of here."</p><p>The Mandalorian turned his visor towards Vena. He didn't need to say anything for her to know what he was asking of her, so she turned her gaze to Karga, and she felt for his resolve. He had no idea of what she was searching for, or any clue of what she was doing, and it caused his surface emotion to be that of confusion, but she found him to be telling the truth. She sighed, then shrugged, nodding at the Mandalorian. </p><p>"He's right, then," said the Mandalorian, lowering his blaster. "As long as the Imp lives, he'll send Hunters after the Child."</p><p>"You're sure it isn't a trap?" asked Cara cautiously. She looked between he and Vena, challenging both of them to her question. </p><p>Vena shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest. "I haven't been wrong before about what I feel," she said softly, to them, and so Karga didn't hear her. </p><p>"Bring me," said the Mandalorian boldly. </p><p>Vena and Cara both whipped their heads to him, shocked by his decision. </p><p>"Bring you?" asked Karga.</p><p>"Tell him you captured me, get me close to him, and I'll kill him."</p><p>"Mando," said Vena sternly. He turned his helmet slightly in her direction, but not fully, acknowledging he had heard her, but choosing to ignore her nonetheless. </p><p>Karga insisted it was a good idea. He asked the Mandalorian for his blaster, which he gave, then Mando reached underneath the back of his cape for his set of handcuffs and broke them open. </p><p>Cara looked wide eyed between Karga and the Mandalorian. "This is insane."</p><p>"It's the only way."</p><p>"Well, I'm coming with you," she insisted.</p><p>"No, no, no, that would make them suspicious," denied Karga. </p><p>"I don't care," said Cara, speaking angrily, and between her teeth. "I'm coming."</p><p>"Tell them she caught me," said the Mandalorian.</p><p>"Fine, then she can bring the Child," said Karga. </p><p>"No, the Child's going back to the ship."</p><p>"Without the Child, none of this works."</p><p>"I have a plan," he said, turning to Kuiil. "Kuiil, ride back to the Razor Crest with the Child and seal yourself in. When you're inside, engage ground security protocols. Nothing on this planet will breach those doors."</p><p>Kuiil stepped down from his Blurrg and walked the short distance to hand the Mandalorian a comlink. "I will keep the Child safe," he promised, then looked up at Cara. "Don't forget to cover your stripes."</p><p>The Mandalorian opened the pod for Kuiil to take the Child out. His gaze landed on Vena, who had said nothing the entire exchange, and was standing there with her brow together, unsettled by the conversation at hand, clearly refraining her thoughts. As he looked at her, she noticed, glancing up at him quickly, but returning her gaze to the city just beyond him. </p><p>"Vena?" he asked softly. </p><p>She turned back to him. "I'll go with Kuiil," she agreed. </p><p>"No, I need you with me," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>Vena raised an eyebrow. Whatever she had wanted to say was gone and replaced with confusion. "What? No. You have Karga and Cara and--"</p><p>"I need you," he said again, not leaving room for disagreement. She opened her mouth again to argue, but he spoke over her. "You and Cara both caught me, then."</p><p>"You said yourself I look frail. You really think they'll believe I caught you?" she asked seriously.</p><p>"Before they have time to think about it, the Imp will be dead."</p><p>Vena squinted at him, as she did when she didn't like what he was saying. He continued to stare back at her. She hummed softly, submitting to him, then admitted, "I don't like it."</p><p>He said nothing more of it. He adjusted the cuffs loosely on his wrists. Cara grabbed a rag from within her back pocket and tied it around the tattoo on her arm. She handed the sniper rifle on her back to Vena, insisting she throw it on her back and maintain her cloak over her montrals. "It makes you look more intimidating," she promised her.</p><p>Kuiil lifted the Child from the pod, wrapping his blanket tightly around his body, then started to walk back to the awaiting Blurrg. From over Kuiil's shoulder, the Child peaked, his eyes moving between Vena and the Mandalorian, as more distance started to separate them. Vena held a hand over her chest, trying to project a calming sensation to his anxious little body. She tried to signal to him that it would be alright. They would be back for him, no matter what. </p><p>Once Kuiil started the Blurrg on a jog back to the ship, Karga, Vena, Cara, and the Mandalorian started down the path into the city. Vena continued to keep her brow together, not on purpose, but because their plan had changed significantly in the span of a few minutes. She felt cautious, almost more so than any of the others, but she supposed they had faith in themselves and somewhat in each other to get out of the upcoming fight. That fact alone made Vena more nervous about the situation. But the Mandalorian claimed he needed her, so she tried to find it in herself to be what he believed in her to be: worthy. </p><p>When they started to close in on the small town, they could all see the two Stormtroopers stationed at the front arch, the entrance into town. While the others could only use their vision, Vena listened to the signals her montrals were shouting alarmingly loud to her. She could feel the familiar vibrations of those with heavy armor walking along the ground, repeatedly, alerting her to a number much larger than what Karga had promised the night before. </p><p>"There's more than four," snapped Vena. </p><p>Karga glanced over at her angry eyes. "Yes. Four guarding the Client. Many more here in town," he said casually. He ignored the angry glances she and Cara gave him. </p><p>The two Troopers were awfully relaxed as the four of them approached. They were sitting on their speeder bikes, slouched, until they were close, and both of the Troopers perked up, almost excited to be seeing some action in their day. Their blasters weren't even in their hands, nor ready to be pulled. Vena glanced beyond them and through the arch, noticing more than a dozen Stormtroopers on the path ahead, blasters in hand, surveying and monitoring the run-down town. </p><p>"Chain code?" asked the Trooper.</p><p>"I have a gift for the boss," said Karga.</p><p>"Chain code," the Trooper demanded. </p><p>Karga sighed. He reached a hand inside the pocket of his faded jacket, retrieving a slip of white paper. The Trooper plucked it from between Karga's fingers, then pulled a small, hand-held device to scan over the paper. He glanced up at Karga when he sighed, irritably, then returned to scanning the red light over the paper. </p><p>"I'll give you twenty credits for the helmet," said the Trooper. </p><p>Karga looked over at the Mandalorian. He forced a laugh. "HA! Not a chance. That things going on my wall," he tried to play along. </p><p>The Mandalorian was quiet. "'On your wall,'" he repeated, his voice flat. </p><p>Karga maintained the grin on his lips, speaking to him from the side of his mouth. "Just go with it."</p><p>The Trooper handed Karga his chain code back, which he slipped back into his pocket, then allowed them to pass through their two person blockade. Karga pushed the Mandalorian to walk in front of him, though once they were through the entrance, they fell side by side in a line together.</p><p>Cara glared at Karga. "Four," she said again, mocking him. "Slip him his blaster."</p><p>Karga declined. He pointed them off the road, to a red door, where he took a hold of the Mandalorian's arm, then pushed him into the building. It was a dimly lit, cold excuse of a bar, empty, besides four Stormtroopers and an older man in a robe sitting a booth towards the back of the room. </p><p>"You see?" said Karga quietly. "Four."</p><p>The man stood, approaching his new guests. He had little emotion on his face. He was stiff as he walked towards them, his eyes the only emotive function in his being, and they were intrigued to see the group in front of him. </p><p>"Look what I've brought you," said Karga. "As promised."</p><p>The Client, or the Imp, Vena guessed, ran his eyes over the Mandalorian. "What exquisite craftsmanship. It is amazing how beautiful Beskar can be when forged by its ancestral artisans," he noted, talking to the Mandalorian, as if he didn't already know that. He turned to Karga. "Can I offer you a libation to celebrate the closing of our shared narrative?"</p><p>"I would be obliged," said Karga pleasantly. </p><p>The Client pointed at the lone droid behind the bar. It went to work within seconds to fix them up some drinks. He walked to the booth, gesturing for Karga and the Mandalorian to sit. Vena and Cara exchanged a glance, but Vena remained standing, a few steps from the booth, and Cara followed her lead. They both took defensive stances, their shoulders back, their faces flat, trying to remain neutral to the situation, regardless of how they truly felt. Cara, only worried, and Vena, just trying her best to look capable of violence. </p><p>"It is a shame that your people suffered so," said the Client, his eyes on the Mandalorian. </p><p>Vena's head moved from the booth where they sat to the entrance in front of them when she heard footsteps incoming. Three more Stormtroopers entered, standing guard. She couldn't spare a glance to Cara without looking suspicious. She kept her eye in their direction, squinting her eyes threateningly, before she returned her gaze to the booth. </p><p>"Just as in this situation, it was all avoidable. Why did Mandalore resist our expansion? The Empire improves every system it touches. Judge by any metric. Safety, prosperity, trade, opportunity, peace. Compare Imperial rule to what is happening now. Look outside. Is the world more peaceful since the revolution? I see nothing but death and chaos," he bored on. Vena almost tuned him out, so uninterested and detached from what he had to say about the great and terrible Empire, but suddenly, he changed subjects with no physical indication that he was going to do so. "I would like to see the Baby," he said, and Vena had to pay attention then. </p><p>Vena ducked her head closer to her chest, lowering the cloak over her forehead. She darted her eyes across the floor of the bar, locating where each of the Troopers was standing, using her eyes, her ears, and the echolocation of her montrals for estimates of the others even outside of the building. The first thing they would need was cover, after the Mandalorian took the shot, which she assumed and hoped he was preparing to do. Karga and the Mandalorian had the booth for cover, but Vena and Cara were in the open. They couldn't move without reason or it would show as suspicious. </p><p>Karga placed a hand over the pod. "It is asleep."</p><p>"We all will be quiet," promised the Client. "Open the pram."</p><p>In Karga's continued hesitation, a Stormtrooper came forward. He bent over, whispering something into the Client's ear, causing him to stand and exit the booth. Karga stood with him.</p><p>"Don't think me to be rude. I must take this call," he insisted. </p><p>Karga nodded and sat back down. </p><p>Vena and Cara watched the Client step away from the booth and cross the entire length of the room, to the bar. The women moved closer to the booth, standing behind the low seats of Karga and the Mandalorian. Vena glanced down at the Mandalorian, noticing him slip the cuffs off, then take his blaster from Karga. </p><p>"You said four," Cara snapped. </p><p>"Well, there are more. What can I tell you?" snapped Karga back. </p><p>Vena paid them no attention. She returned her gaze to the bar, where a Trooper had set up a long range communication device on the bar. She watched the Client bend over the counter, positioning himself to block the holoprojection from the view of his guests. He spoke quietly, if at all, and she could not hear him, but she felt his rush of fear at whoever he was speaking to, and she nudged Cara, while the Troopers were paying them no attention, and brought the woman closer to her. </p><p>"What is it?" asked Cara. </p><p>Karga and the Mandalorian looked at Vena, who was peering at the window across from where the Client stood, shaking her head softly. </p><p>"Something," she mumbled. </p><p>No sooner than the word left her mouth, a single blaster shot through the window she was staring at and directly through the Client's chest. There was little time to react to his death before a plethora of shots started to fire through the window. Karga kicked the table over for cover, the Mandalorian threw himself to the floor, and Cara and Vena pushed each other down, all of them rushing to scurry across the floor for cover as shot after shot rang out, blasting through every single Stormtrooper, the bottles at the bar, the droid, the walls. </p><p>Vena swung the rifle from her back and into her hands. She couldn't pinpoint how many guns were shooting, or if it was just one. The shots were too fast and random for her to focus in on it. Instead, she looked around, searching for the other three. For now, they were all alive, but unfortunately, very outnumbered. </p><p>When the shooting stopped, Cara was the first to sneak away from her cover and move in towards the window, which now was completely shattered and left a gaping hole in the building for them to see easily out of, but unfortunately, for the enemy to see in as well. Karga followed Cara's lead and so did the Mandalorian, but Vena remained towards the back of the building, taking cover behind a flipped table, her rifle atop it, and one eye peaking through the sight. </p><p>Seven Troopers, all with blacked out armor. Vena had never seen colored armor before. She felt the ground beneath her start to vibrate and she moved her rifle to the approaching transport, lifting her head from the scope to watch a dozen or so more Troopers arrive and stand at position behind the seven blacked out Troopers. At this rate, they lasted a small chance, against almost two dozen Troopers. </p><p>Cara turned to Karga. "Four?!"</p><p>All he could do in response to her was shrug. </p><p>The Mandalorian reached for the comlink in his pocket, raising it to his helmet. "Kuiil? Are you back to the ship yet? Are you there? Do you copy?"</p><p>They waited only a few seconds for a response from the Ugnaught. "Yes!"</p><p>"Are you back to the ship yet?"</p><p>"Not yet."</p><p>"Get back to the ship and bail. Get the kid out of here. We're pinned down."</p><p>Vena's eyes snapped to the Mandalorian. His helmet was already turned in her direction. She couldn't help the look of panic that rushed over her features when he gave orders to Kuiil, orders that he hadn't thought were going to be necessary, but now were. If he believed them to be outnumbered, if he was willing to separate himself from the Child, Vena's hope was lost. She tore her eyes away from him and looked out through the window, ducking her head lower to look into the blue sky of Nevarro. She heard something--a ship. A TIE Fighter, which, moments later, landed in the plaza right before them. </p><p>"We need a plan," said Vena. She didn't bother looking at the Mandalorian. He might have been ready to give up, but she wasn't. Instead, she looked at Cara and Karga expectantly. "Come on, start thinking. Other ways out? Secret weapons one of you might have?"</p><p>She was silenced when the TIE Fighter hatch opened with a soft hiss. A figure exited, standing tall on the hull of the ship, before he started to make his way down to the ground. He walked through the Troopers and they moved out of his way, by order, Vena knew, but she wouldn't be surprised if his presence scared them into submission. He was tall and dressed in all black, with an armored chest piece, and a long cape. His body was covered protectively, everything except his head. </p><p>Vena tilted her head back down to the scope of her rifle. She targeted his head. "I could do it," she offered loosely. </p><p>"Wait," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>The man spoke to them: "You have something I want," he said blankly, obviously. </p><p>"Who's this guy?" muttered Cara. </p><p>He continued, "You may think you have some idea of what you are in possession of, but you do not."</p><p>The Mandalorian raised the comlink back to his helmet. He spoke quietly, but hurriedly. "Kuiil, are you back to the ship yet? They're onto us. Kuiil, come in."</p><p>"In a few moments it will be mine."</p><p>Vena felt the man's unshaking confidence. She looked over at the Mandalorian, warning him with her panicked gaze, and he gripped the comlink tighter, practically begging Kuiil to copy, over and over again, hopeful to get a response from the Ugnaught. Vena's horrified eyes were attached to the comlink in Mando's hand, waiting just as anxiously as he was to know the fate of the Child. She despised the confidence in the Imperial man before them. She hoped, beyond belief, that he was wrong. </p><p>There was no response. The Mandalorian lowered the comlink, his helmet raising to Vena's eyes. She sensed his panic over her own, but she had no time to feel his alongside her own, and she moved it to the back of her mind. They had to do the worse now, assume Kuiil was dead, assume the Child was in the possession of the Empire, and they had to survive. There was no other option. They had to survive and go retrieve the Child. </p><p>Vena lowered her head to her scope, her finger on the trigger. "I have a shot."</p><p>"No," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>"We need a plan," reminded Vena hastily. "I can take this guy out, I have a shot."</p><p>"We need a way out," agreed Cara. </p><p>The Mandalorian was quiet, thinking, before he offered up the idea of the sewers. He told them there was a Mandalorian Covert down in the sewers, that if they could just find a way down there, they could help them escape. He raised his arm and started to mess with the panel on his vambrance, checking for access points. He lifted his head, scanning and surveiling the room. </p><p>Vena felt the earth vibrate again, signaling more Troopers. She lifted her head to watch another half dozen Troopers jog into the courtyard, four of them hauling a heavy-grade blaster. The weapon dropped to the ground with a clear and heard thud, alerting them to the weight and probably power behind the weapon about to be assembled in front of their eyes. </p><p>"Yeah, we need to go," said Cara suddenly. Her fear was palpable, more than before, as soon as she recognized the weapon. "They're setting up an E-Web."</p><p>"I found the sewer vent," said the Mandalorian quickly. </p><p>He and Cara ran in the direction of the vent, discarding their blasters. The Mandalorian pushed the furniture blocking it, exposing the sewer grate, then he and Cara stuck their fingers between the slits of the grate and started to pull, tug, yank--whatever they could to try to break it open. </p><p>Vena and Karga kept their eyes on the Troopers. She alerted them to when the E-Web was assembled, though there was no movement from the head Imp to power the weapon up. </p><p>"How long until that thing's cleared?" asked Karga, turning to the Mandalorian and Cara. </p><p>"Blow it," said Cara. </p><p>"I can't, I'm out of charges," said the Mandalorian.</p><p>"Then move!" she snapped, grabbing her blaster and holding her finger on the trigger, lighting up the grate. With the metal hot and glowing a dull orange, she tried to kick through it, to no avail. </p><p>The man spoke again, drawing their attention: "Your astute panic suggests that you understand your situation!" He paused, as if he was waiting for them to listen. They all froze, listening to his words. "I would prefer to avoid any further violence, and encourage a moment of consideration. Members of my escort have completed assembly of an E-Web heavy repeating blaster. If you are unfamiliar with this weapon, I am sure that Republican Shock Trooper Carasynthia Dune of Alderaan will advise you that she has witnessed many of her ranks vaporize mid-descent facing the predecessor of this particular model."</p><p>Vena's eyes glanced in Cara's direction as she saw her step forward, her face twisted with horror at the words he spoke. She felt her stomach drop at the thought of how they had acquired the information on Cara, and what else these people knew. She and Cara both knew the risk of joining the Mandalorian on the mission--being caught by the remnants of the Empire--but they both hadn't expected them to be intelligent or resourceful. To threaten and scare, instead of just a regular shootout. Whoever this man was, he was not a regular follower of the Empire, he was important, powerful, and he wanted them to know it so alarmingly that he had done his research on them. All Vena could do was stare at him, wide-eyed, and wait for what they had on her. </p><p>"I know that the Togruta with you wouldn't know about this weapon, either, actually. Took some digging, but little Hala Havena only has a short record with us: sold into slavery at age five, when Separatists sold her entire planet to Zygerrian slavers," he continued. "It is truly a monumental achievement to have remained hidden from our archives for so long, Hala, but it is a shame you've chosen now to reveal yourself to us."</p><p>Vena could do nothing about the reaction of her face. Confusion, more than anything else, more than worry about the information they had. He was right, it was an achievement to have dodged the Empire for so long, but her records only surrounding her selling into slavery was nothing new. Her name, however, was. Hala Havena, she kept repeating in her head, hearing him say her name, and she had to wonder--was that her? Was that her real name? </p><p>She felt eyes on her and caught his gaze. She noticed the others looking at her too, gauging her reaction, but she tried to wipe the look of confusion from her face. She looked at him, only him, and shook her head, trying to tell him to drop his pity for her. She didn't have to try to feel it radiating from him. She had stayed out of the Empire's grasp for most of her life, until he walked into it, and he knew that seconds after the man's words. </p><p>"Or perhaps," he continued, and they all turned back to him, anxiously awaiting the new information. "The decomissioned Mandalorian hunter, Din Djarin, has heard the songs of the Siege of Mandalore, when gunships outfitted with similiar ordanance laid waste to the fields of Mandalorian recruits in the Night of a Thousand Tears."</p><p>Vena let out a breath. She couldn't imagine how exposed he felt, by having his name thrown out carelessly in front of dozens of people, let alone people who knew him personally. Or, rather, as personally as he would allow. Despite her best interest, she kept hearing his name in her mind, too. Din. His name is Din. She tried to forget it. He wouldn't want her to know. She didn't look over at him, trying to maintain some fraction of privacy for him, and she tried to stop repeating his name in her head, wanting to forget it and pretend she hadn't heard, but some part of her, she knew, would never forget his name. </p><p>"I advise disgraced Magistrate Greef Karga to search the wisdom of his years and urge you to lay down your arms and come outside," said the Imperial lead. "The structure you are trapped in will be razed in short order and your storied lives will come to an unceremonious end."</p><p>Karga peaked out from behind the coverage of the wall. "What do you propose?" </p><p>Vena didn't know if he was asking to stall or genuinely asking. </p><p>"Reasonable negotiation."</p><p>Karga scoffed. "What assurance do you offer?"</p><p>"If you're asking if you can trust me, you cannot. Just as you betrayed our business arrangement, I would gladly break any promise and  watch you die at my hand."</p><p>"Lovely," noted Vena. flatly. </p><p>"The assurance I give is this: I will act in my own self-interest, which, at this time, involves your cooperation and benefit," he told them. He paused, turning behind him and looking at the sun, before he turned back to them. "I will give you until nightfall, and then I will have the E-Web cannon open fire."</p><p>Vena lowered her rifle when he turned on his heel and left. She stood and swung the rifle over her back, walking to huddle with the others, away from the window, and somewhat protected from the view of the awaiting Troopers. She crossed her arms over her chest, her gaze away from any of them, her mind still stuck on two things: her name and his name. </p><p>"I say we hear him out," said Karga. </p><p>"The minute we open that door we're dead, no," disagreed Cara. </p><p>Karga and Cara went on arguing. Under their disagreement, the Mandalorian tilted his helmet down to Vena, nudging his arm into hers to grab her attention. She looked up at him, briefly, before she just left her chin pointed up in his direction, but her eyes didn't reach his visor. He had a feeling she couldn't pay him the full attention, as her mind was in obvious thought. Her cloak had fallen when she walked over to them; she hadn't bothered to replace it. They knew her, anyways. Secrecy didn't matter much anymore when they knew her name and face.</p><p>"You alright?" he asked her softly. </p><p>Vena nodded. Her brow raised slightly as she admitted her thoughts to him, bobbing her head slowly. "Didn't know that was my name."</p><p>"What?" he asked. </p><p>"Hala Havena," she muttered. She said it again, more sure of it than the last. "Hala Havena?" she said, a question, then caught his eye, squinting into his visor. "You think that fits me?"</p><p>"What about you guys?" asked Karga, ushering Vena and the Mandalorian back into he and Cara's argument. While it was genuinely more important than the identity crisis Vena was having, the Mandalorian hesitated to end his conversation with Vena, but he had to. Moff Gideon may have given them until the sun set, but that didn't mean they wanted to wait that long to make a move, or that Gideon would be true to his word. </p><p>"I know who he is," admitted the Mandalorian. "It's Moff Gideon."</p><p>"No," said Cara, without skipping a beat. "Moff Gideon was executed for war crimes."</p><p>"It's him," insisted the Mandalorian. "He knew my name."</p><p>"What does that prove?" asked Karga.</p><p>"I haven't heard that name spoken since I was a child."</p><p>"On Mandalore?" </p><p>"I wasn't born on Mandalore."</p><p>"But you're a Mandalorian."</p><p>"Mandalorian isn't a race," interjected Cara.</p><p>"It's a Creed," explained the Mandalorian. "I was a Foundling. They raised me in the Fighting Corps. I was treated as one of their own and when I came of age, I was sworn to the Creed. The only record of my family name was in the registers of Mandalore. Moff Gideon was an ISB Officer during the Purge. That's how I know its him."</p><p>Cara scoffed. "That's how he knows who we all are."</p><p>"He said he needs us, which means the Child got away safely. I was worried when the Ugnaught didn't respond, but if they captured the kid, we'd already be dead," he deduced.</p><p>Vena nodded thoughtfully. His resolve about the situation at hand explained why he had checked in on her, instead of join Karga and Cara's conversation. </p><p>Cara and the Mandalorian stepped away from Karga and Vena, closer to the sewer grate, trying to put more distance between the comlink and the Troopers outside. He called a few times for Kuiil over the comlink. </p><p>Vena noticed Karga move behind the bar. She caught him as he tilted a small glass against his lips, grunting briefly as he swallowed. She raised an eyebrow at him, wondering how he could drink in a time like this, but when he shrugged, she shrugged, too, and accepted a shot when he offered her one. Together, they tilted their heads back and the glasses with them, and Vena coughed quietly as the liquid burned down her throat. She stuck out her tongue, shaking her head at the brutal taste. </p><p>"Kuiil has been terminated," the comlink recieved.</p><p>Vena and Karga looked at each other, panicked, before they turned their attention to where Cara and the Mandalorian were standing, staring at each other with the same feeling. They could hear the Child's familiar cooing and attempts to talk in the background, beyond the static-ridden signal they were receiving from the droid. So, at the very least, they knew he was safe and they knew Moff Gideon did have to keep them alive in order to apprehend the Child. On the other hand, the Mandalorian's hatred and distrust of the droid was as apparent as ever, by the anonymity of the statement it gave. </p><p>"What did you do?" snapped the Mandalorian.</p><p>"I am fulfilling my base funciton," said IG-11.</p><p>"Which is?" he seethed. </p><p>"To nurse and protect."</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. The Almost Goodbye</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Mandalorian whipped his helmet around to look at Vena. She listened, and heard blasters firing in the distance, towards the entrance of the town, she heard vibrations and felt movement, quicker than a human would move. She watched through the window, her eyes scanning, trying to listen to her montrals, finding a direction. </p><p>"A-a speeder," she managed to say, her brow together, listening and feeling. She located the direction of the speeder and lifted her blaster towards the window, stepping quickly to it, raising her blaster in the direction of the incoming action. Cara and the Mandalorian followed her lead. </p><p>The battalion was alerted to the presence later, much later, than Vena had caught onto it. When the Troopers turned to face the speeder, it was too late for them to do much in subduing the droid. IG-11 leapt from the speeder, sending it flying towards the Troopers. It exploded when it contacted the transport vessel. IG-11 was firing at the remaining battalion with one blaster in each hand, taking most of the attention from the bar, and redirecting the fire towards himself. </p><p>"Cover me!" shouted the Mandalorian. </p><p>Cara jumped on top of the bar counter, her heavy-grade blaster in her arms, and she released on the trigger, firing blankly and continuously across the batallion, waving her weapon over the length of the window. </p><p>Karga and Vena followed behind the Mandalorian as he stepped through the sliding door, knocking away the extended arm of a Stormtrooper waiting for them beside the door. He kicked an oncoming Trooper in the chest, sending him to the ground, then delivered a blaster shot to his chest. He grunted as blaster shots hit his Beskar armor, failing lamely, then he went to work doing what he did best: killing. </p><p>Vena stayed in the doorway of the building, where she could hide behind the door frame for cover. She watched the Mandalorian through her scope as he tried to fight his way across the courtyard and to IG-11, who, they now realized, had the baby securely fashioned on his back. She shot any of the Troopers who were too close to Mando for her comfort. She had faith in the Mandalorian to fight, but she tried to subdue any and all who closed in on him, aiming to shorten the amount of fighting he had to do in order to take the Child safely from IG-11. </p><p>She noticed where he was going in between his fighting--the E-Web, and not IG-11. The Mandalorian wanted to take out the courtyard, she had to assume, so Vena decided she would try to take the Child and leave the fighting to the Bounty Hunters. Vena glanced over at Karga, asking him to cover her, then she swung the rifle over her back and brought her blaster out. Her eyes scanned quickly over the courtyard, noting where the remaining Troopers were, then she hoped for the best, and started to run across the courtyard for the Child. </p><p>The Mandalorian made it to the E-Web. He leapt on it, forcing it around, laying a heavy hand on its trigger and fired into the crowd of Troopers. His quick movement to the weapon caused Vena to throw herself to the ground when he swung the weapon in her direction. He noticed her dodge the weapon and then swung the E-Web in the other direction, shouting her name with reprimand, to which she shrugged and pushed herself up and into motion again. </p><p>"What are you doing?!" he snapped at her as she closed into close proximity of the E-Web, aiming to slide behind him for brief coverage, before she continued across the yard for the Child. "Get out of here, Vena, go back to the bar!"</p><p>"Shut up!" snapped Vena. "I'm grabbing the Kid!" </p><p>They both flinched, ducking their heads, as an explosion occurred behind them. The repetitive blasting from Cara's weapon was ceased, her cover fire momentarily paused, and Vena looked at both entrances into the bar, seeing one of them had been blown open. Vena pressed a hand onto the Mandalorian's shoulder, encouraging him to continue firing, then when he started to, she took a step to continue her run for the Child. </p><p>Only a few steps away from the coverage of the E-Web, Vena and the Mandalorian were subjected to a precise blaster shot by Moff Gideon himself, exploding a flammable pipeline near the E-Web, throwing both Vena and the Mandalorian to the ground in a quick blaze of fire and a short, deafening explosion.</p><p>Vena hit the ground with a hard smack, her blaster flying out of her hand. She recovered swiftly  from the ground, crawling to her blaster, but she was groaning and grunting with pain radiating from her left montral. She could barely hear anything except for a dull ring  in her ears, overtaking the muffled sounds of the fighting. Her eyes were adjusting back from the bright flash of light that came with the explosion. </p><p>Mando. She had to find him. She looked back behind her, where he had been, and saw his body being dragged back into the coverage of the bar by Cara. Karga was running towards Vena, his mouth moving, but she heard nothing of what he was saying. He grabbed the back of her cloak, yanking her up from the ground, pushing her into a run, while he shot blankly into the sea of Troopers for some coverage.</p><p>Vena stumbled back into the bar. Karga entered, then IG-11 with the Child, and the door slid securely shut behind them. She briefly glanced over at the other entrance, which had been blown wide open, but as her hearing became less muffled and more distinct, she noticed the firing had stopped when they returned to the coverage of the bar. </p><p>Panic. Vena turned to the Mandalorian, her brow together, confused, because it wasn't from him. She felt the panic from Cara, who was patting gently over the Mandalorian's body, peering over him, her mouth was moving, saying his name. Or, what they called him, rather. Mando, Mando, Vena could see Cara calling, waiting for an answer. </p><p>"He's awake," said Vena, knowing he was, but she stopped short when her voice sounded strange to her. Her hearing was muffled, which was to be expected when she had been so close to the explosion, but her voice echoed in her own ears. She looked over at Karga when he stepped quickly over to her, his hand falling to her chin and turning her left side to his face. He turned her right side to his face and she heard her name, responding to it, and then he let go of her. </p><p>IG-11 stepped beside Karga. "You are bleeding. Would you like some Bacta Spray?"</p><p>"What?" she asked, looking between them. Karga looked at the IG droid, his features showing that of concern. "What did he say?" </p><p>"Bacta Spray," enunciated Karga, shouting and moving his lips.</p><p>Vena wondered what on Nevarro she would need Bacta Spray for, so she shook her head, waving them away. Her hearing was muffled because she was so close to the blast. Certainly not uncommon. Karga's concern was evident, persisting, but she told them to figure out a way out of here, instead of worrying about her, and the two bent down next to the sewer grate. With them out of her view, Vena was left to look at the Mandalorian and Cara, and noticed his hand was outreaching for her. </p><p>Vena dropped to her knees beside him, trying to take his hand in hers, but he bypassed her outstretched hand, instead cupping her face. Over her left ear, rather. Vena smiled a little, leaning her head into his warm hand. "Hey, you're alright," she said, again, ignoring the echo of her voice. It was probably a symptom of being too close to the blast. She patted his hand as it laid on her face. He brought her face forward with his hand, closer to his helmet.</p><p>"You're bleeding," he said to her, and his voice was strained, not himself. </p><p>Vena was shocked by how pained he sounded. The slight smile on her face fell upon hearing his voice and she lifted her head from his hand, almost completely ignoring what words he had said to her. "What's wrong with you?" she asked, looking over at Cara briefly. "Are you okay?" </p><p>"Vena, your head is bleeding," Cara had told her, but Vena hadn't answered, nor heard her. She reached to grab Vena's attention and repeated herself, which caused Vena to lay her own hand over her left montral, gasping when she saw fresh, warm blood on her fingertips. "V, I don't have any Med Pacs, nothing," breathed Cara. </p><p>"I'll be fine," said Vena, wiping her hand off on her pants. "What's wrong with him?" </p><p>"Go," croaked the Mandalorian, gaining their attention. "I'm not gonna make it."</p><p>"Shut up," snapped Cara. "You just got your bell rung. You'll be fine."</p><p>Vena shook her head. She was so confused by the pain in his voice. He <em>felt</em> fine. He was not radiating fear or worry or panic or anything near what people usually did when they were injured. She reached for him with both of her hands. Whether he was so pained that he couldn't resist her or if he allowed it to happen, she didn't know, but she snuck her fingers behind his head, at the base of his helmet, and found his neck was dampened with blood. She could feel his hair, curled with the wet substance, soaked in it. She couldn't help the fear that flashed across her face when she found the excessive amount of blood. She knew he had seen it; she was inches from his helmet, her nose almost touching it. She knew he was watching her come to the conclusion he had so obviously known--he was not well. </p><p>The Mandalorian's hand fell to her lap, where he took her hand. His visor was still on her and not Cara, who was so in denial she couldn't be reasoned with about leaving him. He adored Cara for that, how deeply she didn't want to admit he was hurt, but Vena, he knew he could reach. He asked her, painfully, to leave him behind. A look passed over her face, confusion, and she looked over to Cara, who repeated it to her again.</p><p>"No," she said firmly. She glanced behind her, where IG-11 was cutting through the sewer grate. She noticed the Child and Karga, nearby, but not paying the Mandalorian any attention. She turned back to him and took his hand, holding it between hers, and close to her chest, begging him. "Cara's right--it's just your head. You fell too hard. If you just let us help you, IG has Bacta Spray, we can--"</p><p>"No, you leave me," he interrupted her. He was gasping for breath, his chest raising high to gather air to speak. Vena leaned closer to him, trying to hear him, as she couldn't exactly read his lips to understand him. "You make sure the Child is safe."</p><p>The Mandalorian raised his other hand, slipping it underneath the neckline of his shirt, pulling the leather chain of a necklace on top of his armor. He tugged at it, breaking it from his neck, then placed it into Cara's hand. "When you get to the Mandalorian Covert, show them that. Tell them it's from Din Djarin, you tell them the Foundling was in my protection, and they'll help you."</p><p>"You can't do this to me," said Vena breathlessly. She let go of his hands and ripped through the bottom of her cloak, balling up the fabric and sticking it behind his neck to soak some of the blood. She was closer to him, talking quietly and quickly, her irritation coming to the forefront of her feelings as she sat with him.</p><p>"I'm sorry," he whispered to her, his fingers squeezing softly on top of her thigh. "I'm sorry for bringing you into this."</p><p>"I'm not mad at you for that, I'm mad at you for giving up!" she snapped, sitting back on her heels. She searched his visor, wishing she could see his eyes, feel him. She sighed hopelessly, placing both of her hands on his helmet, making him look at her and her tearful eyes. "I know how deeply you find solace in your Creed, I do, but we can save you. Will you really choose a preventable death over breaking your Creed?"</p><p>"This is the way," he said, and Vena dropped her hands from his helmet, heartbroken. "Take care of him, Vena, please."</p><p>"I wish I could understand, but I don't, Mando. You come into my peaceful little life, you ask me to protect a wacky green baby, you take me off Sorgan, make the Empire know about me, and now you want to die on me? Absolutely not. Do better!" she snapped, her finger pointed sternly at his helmet. "You will take off your helmet and you will let us save you!"</p><p>"I will take off my helmet--"</p><p>Vena gasped as sudden heat shot through the bar and warmed her body. She threw her body over his, recognizing the smell of burning objects, knowing immediately it was fire. She felt his arm come up behind her back, holding him close to her. She turned her head. A Trooper with a flame thrower had come through the blown door on the opposite side of the bar. The Empire was planning to burn them alive. They had a short amount of time before he stepped closer at ended their lives, or the bar went up in complete flames. </p><p>"I can hold them back long enough for you to escape," he said quietly, forcing her head back to him. Her nose was almost touching his helmet. He had a hand on her waist, now, weakly holding her. </p><p>"If you can do that, you can come with," she told him. She leaned back from him and took his hand from her waist, Cara took his other hand, both of them wanting to help him stand, but he wiggled his hands from their grasps.</p><p>"Let me have a warriors death," he begged them.</p><p>"We won't leave you," snapped Cara. </p><p>Flames entered once more, another warning, and Vena and Cara bent over the Mandalorian protectively. Their gazes landed on each other, knowing that there was no more time. They had to go. Vena turned as she saw the Child wobbling forward and she yelped, throwing her body after him as he was stepping in the direction of the flame thrower. Her outstretched hand was inches away from his cloak as she hit the floor. The Child raised his hand at the igniting fire and it stopped, hitting a barrier, an invisible force, protecting those who stood behind him. He flicked his hand into the air, throwing the collected fire back at the Trooper, killing him, and setting the entire bar on fire. The Child fell backwards into Vena's opened hand, his eyes closed, but his chest still moving.</p><p>"Come on!" yelled Karga. He was standing at the opened sewer grate, gesturing for Cara and Vena to hustle. "It's open! Lets go, we have to move! Now!"</p><p>IG-11's feet entered Vena's vision. The droid's hands were outstretched to help her to stand and she adjusted the Child into her arms, cradling him protectively against her chest. She looked over at the Mandalorian, frozen, knowing what she needed to do, but wary to do so. There was no time to argue, anymore. The Mandalorian had made his decision; his Creed over his life, over the Child. </p><p>"Escape and protect this child," said the IG Unit. </p><p>Vena glanced up at him. "I--"</p><p>"Hala," said the Mandalorian, and she looked at him, hoping that she heard him right through the blockage in her ears. Tears welled in her eyes as he said her name again, her true name. She didn't want it to be the last time she heard it. She wanted to hear him clearer, closer, again and again, but he couldn't make that happen. "Please," he said to her. "Go."</p><p>Vena bent down beside him and laid her hand softly against his helmet. His hand raised to rest on top of her own. She pressed her lips above his visor, before she rested her forehead against it for a brief moment. She wished, in that moment, she could touch his skin. He was struggling, then, to continue hiding his pain to her. The worse it got, the more she could feel his reaction to the pain in his head. She wanted to relieve him of it, but he had asked her to leave. She had to go. </p><p>She inhaled a shaky breath, ready to pull away from him, but she stopped when he raised his hand to lay gently on the side of her montral. Vena flinched underneath his touch, no matter how gentle it was, and a few tears fell from her eyes when she squeezed them shut. He had to remember, she told herself, he had to remember what his gesture meant in her culture, and she assumed that was why he did so, but it only made it that much harder to leave him behind. </p><p>"Ret'ureye mhi," he whispered to her, translating his tongue only seconds later. "Maybe we'll meet again."</p><p>Vena couldn't help but release a hopeless laugh, nodding her head. She leaned away from his helmet, trying to smile for him, hoping that her smile could be something he remembered as he went. "Somewhere beyond real life, maybe," she agreed softly.</p><p>"I'll look for you," he promised her.</p><p>The IG Unit's heavy footsteps stepped towards them. "I will stay with the Mandalorian," it told them. </p><p>Cara stood. "Promise me you'll bring him," she whispered, too quiet for Vena to hear. </p><p>"You have my word."</p><p>Vena had to accept it. He didn't like droids, but he wouldn't be alone, and that was what they would have to accept. Once more, Vena touched his helmet, squeezing her eyes shut before more tears fell, then she put a hand over the Child's head and turned, rushing into the sewer vent before she decided to stay with him. </p><p>Once in the sewer vent, Cara took the lead. Vena was trailing behind her and Karga, trying to remember to breathe, clutching the Child against her chest like he was her lifeline. Her tears fell freely from her eyes, a couple with every time she blinked. Her head hurt, mainly, her hearing was still muffled, though it was beginning to clear in her right ear. Her physical pain was nothing compared to the ache in her chest, thinking about the possibility of what might have been, and then the reality she would have to face when she have to tell the Child that his caretaker had passed away. </p><p>The sewers were silent. Or, quiet, at least, because Vena was sniffling louder than she must have thought she was. Though Karga and Cara pretended to ignore Vena's crying, they exchanged a worried glance. They both had an idea as to what Vena's injury was beginning to look like. </p><p>At the sound of an explosion in the sewers behind them, the three turned, though Vena's was delayed by her hearing. She had felt the explosion shake beneath her feet before she registered it in her ears. Karga and Cara rushed forward to stand in front of Vena, protecting her and the Child. Vena held her blaster up, moving it along the length of the sewer halls, trying to use her montrals for a pinpoint location on the incoming fighters. But it was only two, she realized, moments before they turned the corner. </p><p>It was the Mandalorian. Cara rushed forward to see him, taking over for IG-11, whom he was leaning on to help him walk.</p><p>Vena was frozen in place. Her hand fell limp to her side, her saddened eyes glued to him, her heart still heavy, even though he was alive and in front of her. Cara helped him to walk to where Vena was, where he stood on his own, his helmet tilted down at her face. </p><p>"Are those tears for me?" he asked. </p><p>Vena's face was blank. "What?"</p><p>He glanced at Cara, who encouraged him with a nod, and he repeated himself. </p><p>"Oh, uh, yeah," Vena muttered. She drew her hand back into the sleeve of her jumpsuit and wiped her face, sniffling aggressively, trying to rid evidence of her tears. "Undeserving, now, that you're alive," she said, trying to hide the croak in her voice. She cleared her throat and pointed a stern finger at him, squinting her eyes. "Do not do that again."</p><p>"I'll try."</p><p>The Mandalorian pressed a hand to his helmet, turning a flashlight on that helped to illuminate the sewer. With Cara's help to walk, he started to lead the group through the sewers. In time, the sewers started to become spacious and less dark, forming from old sewage tunnels to full fledged hallways. While the Mandalorian did genuinely lead for a long while, when they started to recognize the patterns along the walls, and not new surroundings, the group came to a stop. </p><p>"Do you know which way to go?" asked Cara. </p><p>"No, I don't know these tunnels," admitted the Mandalorian. "I've only entered from the Bazaar."</p><p>"Well, if we get the smell of sulfur and we follow it, it'll lead us up to the plains where the river flows," said Karga. </p><p>"And the Imps will catch us before we make it to the ship," said the Mandalorian, shaking his head. "We need the Mandalorian's to escort us to safety."</p><p>Cara sighed. "This place is a maze."</p><p>The Mandalorian gathered himself and stood on his own feet, feeling the Bacta Infusion bringing life back into his body. He waved away Cara's helpful hands, assuring her he could stand on his own. </p><p>"The Bacta Infusion is working," noted IG-11.</p><p>Vena glanced at the droid beside her. His injury had been on his head, under his helmet. She squinted, wondering how the droid managed to treat the Mandalorian without lifting his helmet. She passed over the droid and looked to the Mandalorian, who was staring directly at her, as was Cara, as was Karga. Vena felt her face flush with embarrassment. </p><p>"What?" she asked.</p><p>"Vena," said Cara softly, sadly. "Did you hear what Mando said?"</p><p>"Yeah, that we need the Mandalorian's to escort us to safety," she said, raising a brow. </p><p>The Mandalorian closed the distance between them. He reached for her chin, like Karga had, leaning close to her right montral and saying her name, her real name, and she nodded. "Yes, I hear you, my goodness," she huffed, trying to step away from him, but he asked her to stop. She turned her face back to him, confused, and he turned her chin once more, leaning into her left montral, and she waited. </p><p>"Are you going to say something or are you going to just stare at my ear all day?" she asked awkwardly. </p><p>His hand fell from her face, allowing her to turn her head back to face him properly. When he told her that he had spoke, into her left ear, she scoffed, denying it. "I didn't hear you--" she started to say, then her face froze. She looked up at him, her lips splitting, her breath caught in her throat. She immediately shifted the Child to her other arm, bringing her hand up and snapping her fingers directly by her left montral. She snapped and she snapped faster, until she knew she couldn't hear it, fully understanding now, and she slapped her hand over her ear. The Mandalorian reached forward to intercept her hand before she could cause more damage to herself, grabbing her hand, holding it close to his chest. She stared up at him, hopelessly, distraught, broken by the revelation. </p><p>"IG, is there anything you can do?" asked Cara quietly. </p><p>"She refused the Bacta Spray," said the droid. </p><p>The Mandalorian turned to Vena. "You refused the Bacta Spray?"</p><p>"Her refusal saved you," said IG-11. "You may not have survived if she had taken it."</p><p>Vena tugged her hand away from the Mandalorian's grasp. She cast her eyes forward, down, ashamed and embarrassed. "We should go," she muttered. </p><p>"Vena--" Cara tried to say. </p><p>"Can we just go?" asked Vena again, shaking her head. "Please?"</p><p>They said nothing else. The Mandalorian hesitated to leave her side, but he did, after a few moments. He lowered his gaze to the floor, turning his helmet to a different variation of vision to scan for tracks along the ground of the sewers. He lead the group further into the maze of tunnels, this time, having footsteps to follow. There was hope, for a moment, until the tracks led him to a scene that shattered his heart: a pile of Beskar and helmets. Blood-stained armor, belonging to the people in his Covert. </p><p>Vena looked up when a rush of grief struck through her. She noticed the scene and her hand fell to the Child's head, ensuring he would not turn and see the slaughtered Mandalorian Covert. She watched the Mandalorian fall to his knees, his shaking hands reaching for one of the helmets. As he raised it from the ground, his grief was replaced with overwhelming anger. </p><p>"We should go," said Cara quietly. </p><p>"You go. Take the ship. I can't leave it this way," he told them. He turned his helmet to the left, where Karga was standing. He did not face the man, but his aura was as threatening as ever, regardless. "Did you know about this? Is this the work of your Bounty Hunters?"</p><p>"No," said Karga, appalled. "When you left the system and took the prize, the fighting ended and the hunters melted away. You know how it is. They're mercenaries not zealots!"</p><p>The Mandalorian dropped the helmet and stood, rushing to Karga, grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket. "Did you do this? Did you?!"</p><p>"No!" yelled Karga.</p><p>"It was not his fault," said a voice in front of them. A woman entered the hall, a helmet over her head, too, and a fur cape around her shoulders. She casually strolled a hovering cart beside the remains of the Mandalorian warriors, then began to place pieces of the Beskar carefully into the cart. "We revealed ourselves. We knew what could happen if we left the Covert. The Imperials arrived shortly thereafter. This is what resulted."</p><p>The Mandalorian released Karga and stepped forward. "Did any survive?" he asked, his voice calmer. </p><p>"I hope so," she told him. "Some may have escaped off-world."</p><p>"Come with us," he told her.</p><p>"No. I will not abandon this place until I have salvaged what remains," she said. She placed a final piece of armor onto the cart, then started to push the cart away from them. </p><p>The Mandalorian followed her without any hesitation. Cara, Karga, and Vena hesitated to follow, but when Vena stepped forward, the others followed. They entered into a separate room, lit in a dim orange by the pit in the center of the room. It was an armory. They stood in the doorway, distancing themselves from the Mandalorian and the Armorer, aiming to be polite, but still wanting to understand what was going on. The Armorer held a long set of tongs in her hand as she used them to place a piece of Beskar into the pit. It burned upon contact into the pit, liquidizing instantly. </p><p>"Show me the one whose safety deemed such destruction," demanded the Armorer. </p><p>The Mandalorian turned his helmet behind him, nodding his head for Vena to step forward. She walked slowly to stand beside him, he moved to her right side, then nodded down at the Child in Vena's arms. She adjusted the slowly waking Child to face the Armorer. "This is the one," he said. </p><p>The Armorer tilted her head as she looked at the Child in Vena's arms. "This is the one you hunted, then saved?"</p><p>"Yes. The one that saved me as well."</p><p>"From the Mudhorn?"</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>The Armorer nodded. "It looks helpless."</p><p>"It's injured, but it is not helpless," the Mandalorian defended. "Its species can move objects with its mind."</p><p>"I know of such things," said the Armorer, causing both Vena and the Mandalorian's attention to snap to her with immediate intrigue. The Armorer continued to place Beskar into the melting pot. "The Songs of Eons Past tell of battles between Mandalore the Great and an order of sorcerers called Jedi that fought with such powers."</p><p>Vena had heard that term before--Jedi--but not since she was a child. She would have to think back, when it was quiet, when her mind was quiet, and remember where she had heard it before. </p><p>The Mandalorian went stiff beside her. "It is an enemy?"</p><p>"No," said the Armorer. "Its kind were enemies, but this individual is not."</p><p>Vena looked down at the Child in her arms. So, they didn't fear him, or, the Mandalorian's superior didn't, which was a blessing for her and the Child, but it left her fate undecided. The Child, as an individual, was not a threat, but that didn't mean they would believe Vena to not be as well. She couldn't admit her truth to him, not then, or maybe ever. He trusted very clearly in the words of the Armorer, he demonstrated his loyalty to the Creed, and if he found out Vena had the same powers of an enemy of the Mandalorian's, she could not convince herself he would choose her over his people. So, again, that day, Vena's heart broke. </p><p>"What is it?" he had asked the Armorer.</p><p>"It is a Foundling. By Creed, it is in your care."</p><p>"You wish me to train this thing?" he asked.</p><p>"It is too weak--it would die. You have no choice. You must reunite it with its own kind."</p><p>Vena kept her face still, though her first instinct was some variation of excitement. The Mandalorian was tasked with bringing the Child back to his people, <em>their</em> people. The Jedi. Never before in her life had she met anyone else like her, and now, through meeting a Mandalorian and his small green child, she had a chance to meet more with the same power she held inside of her. She'd never been interested to learn more about the power inside of her until then, when she had a path towards it. It was decided for her: she had to stay with the Mandalorian and his Child. She had to find out where her path with them led to. </p><p>"Where?" he asked. </p><p>"This, you must determine."</p><p>"You expect me to search the galaxy for the home of this creature and deliver it to a race of enemy sorcerers?"</p><p>He sounded angry. Vena winced. His clear disdain for their people was apparent; she wondered if he was going to abandon them, but—</p><p>"This is the way," said the Armorer, and to that, the Mandalorian could say nothing. </p><p>Cara had enough. "These tunnels will be lousy with Imps in a matter of minutes," she interjected. "We should at least discuss an escape plan."</p><p>The Armorer agreed. "If you follow the descending tunnel, it will lead you to the underground river. It flows downstream toward the lava flats."</p><p>"I'm staying," said the Mandalorian, nudging Vena back towards Cara and Karga, but after his words, she stopped, glaring at him. "I need to help her and I need to heal."</p><p>"You must go," the Armorer said, making his decision for him. "A Foundling is in your care. By Creed, until it is of age or reunited with its own kind, you are as its father."</p><p>She lifted a small piece of Beskar from her pile of newly forged armor and walked to him, a torch in her other hand. He turned his shoulder to her, watching as she welded a patch onto his arm, a Signet that he earned, she told him. "You are a clan of two."</p><p>"Thank you," he mumbled. "I will wear this with honor."</p><p>An explosion in the distance brought the severity of their time into the forefront of their minds. The Armorer told IG-11 to guard the outer hallway. When he left, she told the Mandalorian she had one more gift for his journey. </p><p>"Have you trained in the Rising Phoenix?" she asked. </p><p>"When I was a boy, yes."</p><p>"Then this will make you complete," she said, turning to face him, a jetpack in her hands. </p><p>Again, the Mandalorian thanked her. </p><p>"When you have healed, you will begin your drills," she said. "Until you know it, it will not listen to your commands."</p><p>"I understand," he said.</p><p>At the sound of close blaster fire, Vena saw Karga and Cara reveal their blasters. She took hers out, watching the door, but it was only the IG Unit, informing them they were protected. The Armorer ushered them away, but not before telling the Mandalorian to restock his munitions and asking IG-11 to hold the jetpack for Din Djarin until he was well enough to wear it. For the third time in such a short span, Vena heard his real name, and couldn't help but feel interested in the man under the mask. Din. She knew he must have had a name, because everyone did, but knowing his was different. He was allowing them to hear it; a testament to his trust in them, the way he felt comfortable enough to divulge on such a personal aspect of his existence, the most personable aspect. </p><p>Karga and Cara had left the armory, which Vena hadn't noticed. She hadn't heard their footsteps lead away from them, honestly. She waited for the Mandalorian, watching him restock, until he turned back to the door and faltered, as if he hadn't expected her to be waiting. He placed a hand on her lower back, guiding her along with him, from the armory and continuing on through the tunnels, following behind Karga and Cara. </p><p>Vena noticed the way he changed his position to stay on her right side. Her good ear, now. She looked up at him. "Are you alright?" she asked quietly, maybe more softly than she intended to, because she had to ask him again a bit louder so he heard her. The echo when she spoke made it hard for her to tell how loud she was being. </p><p>He nodded. "Yes," he said back quietly. "Are you?"</p><p>Vena nodded. They said nothing else to each other. There wasn't much to say, nor time to process it enough to even want to discuss any of it. In time, they both thought, with time, there would be more to discuss. </p><p>Before they knew it, the lava river was ahead of them. It was moving slowly, the orange lava illuminating the dark tunnel, cascading and slithering across the land. There was a ferry in front of them, cursed with a long stretch of no passengers, causing the lava to still and mold over it, holding the ferry against the dock. The ferry droid on the back was fried. </p><p>"If we push the boat out, we can get it to float downstream," suggested Karga.</p><p>"It looks old," said the Mandalorian. "Will it take the heat?"</p><p>"You got a better idea?"</p><p>"Guess not."</p><p>Together, he and Karga tried to push the ferry from where it was stuck. They were bickering at each other with every push, accusing the other of not pushing hard enough. When the ferry didn't move after it was clear they were both indeed pushing, the Mandalorian stood and kicked the side of the ferry. He glanced around, found a metal pole beside the ferry, then wedged it between the ferry and the dock, trying to push it apart. </p><p>Cara watched them, amused for a minute, before she told them to step aside. She swung the blaster from her back and around to her hand, holding her finger on the trigger, firing repeated blasts to break the solid lava from the ferry. When they could see the flowing orange lava between the landing platform and the ferry, Karga and the Mandalorian jumped into the ferry.</p><p>The Mandalorian stood near the edge, holding his hands out for Vena. She jumped over the small gap and he gathered her and the Child in his arms, shuffling them towards the center of the ferry, before he let go of her. She glanced up at him thankfully. </p><p>Behind them, a crackling noise occurred, causing him to push Vena behind him as he drew his blaster. It was the ferry droid, activated, breaking out of the solid lava attached to its legs as it stood, revealing a metal row in its arms. It beeped expectantly at them. </p><p>"I don't suppose anybody here speaks droid?" asked the Mandalorian.</p><p>"I believe he is asking where we would like to go," said IG-11.</p><p>"Down river. To the lava flat," said Karga. </p><p>The droid chirped in response and stuck the row into the lava, beginning to propel them down the river a bit faster. In their silence, it started to beep a steady rhythm, a song, to combat the tense silence of the ferry passengers. </p><p>The Child cooed in Vena's arms, drawing their attention to him. The Mandalorian leaned closer to Vena to see the Child start to gain some life back into him. He tilted his head back from Vena's chest, seeing the familiar helmet and the montrals of the people who held him the most, then his head fell back against her chest, his hands curling around the fabric of her cloak. </p><p>"He seems okay," noted Vena. </p><p>The Mandalorian agreed. "Enemy sorcerers," he muttered. </p><p>Vena's body flushed with heat. "Crazy," she managed to say. She didn't want to say much on the subject, for fear that her reaction might tip him off to the truth. She was usually good at lying, she told white lies her entire life to protect herself, but with him, it was different. Harder. It was always harder to lie to the faces of good people--the Mandalorian, Omera, Cara, even. But Vena had to remind herself that he was attuned to watch people's reactions and analyze them, as part of his job, and she would have to work harder to maintain her secret from him. It was going to change everything about how she felt for him. Anything she wanted, any sliver of hope that something might happen between them, it could not. He would choose his Creed over an enemy sorcerer, she had to remember, and she would be no exception. Their relationship had to exist as partners, only. She couldn't allow herself to be intrigued by him any longer. He was just transportation, he was just a momentary protector. A stepping stone on the path to finding out more of her powers. </p><p>"That's it!" said Karga, pointing at a small point of light at the end of the tunnel. "We're free!"</p><p>"No," said the Mandalorian and Vena, together. She assumed he had switched to his heat vision, and she could feel their footsteps, with a little focus. She continued, "They're flanking the mouth of the tunnel."</p><p>"Looks like an entire platoon. They must know we're coming," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>Karga smirked. "Eyes and ears, huh?"</p><p>Vena looked up at the Mandalorian, as he tilted his helmet down to her. "Something like that," he mumbled, while she corrected, "Ear," sadly. </p><p>"Stop the boat," demanded Cara. She looked back at the droid when it continued to row. She asked the droid once more to stop the boat, and when it didn't, she pulled a blaster from her hip and blasted the head of the droid. The ferry, however, didn't come to a stop.</p><p>"Well, looks like we fight," said Karga. </p><p>"No, there are too many," denied the Mandalorian. </p><p>"Then what do you suggest, 'cause I can't surrender!" snapped Cara anxiously. </p><p>Vena nodded. "That would be my preference, too."</p><p>"They will not be satisfied with anything less than the Child," said IG-11. "This is unacceptable. I will eliminate the enemy and you will escape."</p><p>"You don't have that kind of firepower, pal, you wouldn't even get to daylight," said the Mandalorian off-handedly. His hands fell to his hips, looking impatiently at the slowly approaching mouth of the tunnel, raking his brain for an idea. </p><p>"That is not my objective," said IG-11. "I still have the security protocols from my manufacturer. If my designs are compromised, I must self-destruct."</p><p>"What are you talking about?" asked the Mandalorian, turning to face the droid.</p><p>Vena was forced to turn too, to avoid his shoulder bumping into hers. The Child was between them, and it was only when he lifted his head and his ears touched both her and him that she noticed how close he was standing to her. Because he ignored it, she did, too. </p><p>"I am not permitted to be captured. I must be destroyed," said IG-11. </p><p>Karga looked between the droid and the Mandalorian expectantly. "Are we gonna keep talking or are we gonna get out of here?"</p><p>"I can no longer carry this for you," said IG-11, stepping forward and setting the Mandalorian's jetpack on the ferry bench. He looked down at Vena, her arms, then admitted, "Nor can I watch over the Child."</p><p>The Mandalorian stepped closer to IG-11, shaking his head. "Wait, you can't self destruct. Your base command is to watch the Child and that supersedes your manufacturers protocol, right?" he said hurriedly. When IG-11 said nothing, he pressed, "<em>Right?</em>"</p><p>"This is correct," admitted IG-11. </p><p>"Good. Now, grab a blaster and help us shoot our way out."</p><p>Vena watched the Mandalorian curiously as he argued with IG-11. A droid. She couldn't tell if he was arguing with him because he believed in their ability to fight through the Troopers, or if he changed his tune about droids in the last few hours of working with it. IG-11 saved him, somehow, and Vena wondered if he was trying to do the same by preventing the droid's insistency to self-destruct. </p><p>"Victory through combat is impossible," denied IG-11. "We will be captured, the Child will be lost. Sadly, there is no scenario where the Child is saved in which I survive. "</p><p>"Listen, you're not going anywhere. We need you. Lets just come up with a--"</p><p>"Please tell me the Child will be safe in your care," interrupted IG-11. "If you do so, I can default to my secondary command."</p><p>"But you'll be destroyed," muttered the Mandalorian.</p><p>"And you will live and I will have served my purpose."</p><p>"No. We need you."</p><p>"There's nothing to be sad about. I have never been alive."</p><p>The Mandalorian stared blankly at the droid. "I'm not...sad."</p><p>"Yes you are. I'm a nurse droid. I've analyzed your voice," said IG-11.</p><p>The droid bent down and touched the the Child's ear, affectionately, for a droid, and then stepped over the edge of the ferry and into the lava without a second thought. It walked, faster than the lava was flowing, to the base of the tunnel, and it stood there for a moment, before self destructing. Fire lit up the end of the tunnel, the explosion echoed through the walls, then there was silence. </p><p>"Vena?" asked the Mandalorian quietly. "Can you..."</p><p>She nodded. She had only lost hearing in one ear, she told him, not her montrals. Her hearing loss made it clear she would have to learn to rely on the echolocation through her montrals more, in the future. But she focused, listening and feeling, and could feel nothing at the edge of the tunnel. No footsteps, no vibrations. Nothing like before. </p><p>"They're all dead," she confirmed.</p><p>Their ferry drifted through the tunnel and into daylight. A dozen Troopers were laying dead, strewn along the side of the lava river. Mere seconds after they exited, the familiar screech of a TIE Fighter bolted over their heads. The four of them drew their blasters and started to fire into the sky, but Moff Gideon and his TIE Fighter were no match for their puny blasters. He fired for the edges of the lava bank, sending debris flying into the air, decimating the already dead bodies of his soldiers. He deliberately missed their ferry, a warning, and started to circle for another run at them. </p><p>"He missed," said Karga. </p><p>"He won't next time," said the Mandalorian.</p><p>"Our blasters are useless against him," said Cara.</p><p>"Hey, lets make the Baby do the magic hand thing! Do the magic hand thing, baby," suggested Karga, sticking three fingers up and twisting them side to side. The Child lifted his head from Vena's chest and cooed, raising his hand, imitating Karga perfectly. He sighed. "I'm out of ideas."</p><p>"I might be able to get up there," muttered Vena. She ignored their doubtful looks, though she felt them. She was staring into the sky, trying to remember how low Moff Gideon flew to shoot at them, and how high she had accidentally shot herself into the air on Sorgan.</p><p>"How?" asked the Mandalorian. </p><p>"Magic trick, I guess," she said. She reached for a grenade from his belt. He grabbed her hand, holding it on a grenade. She rolled her eyes up to him. "Do you have any better ideas, flyboy?"</p><p>He nodded, sarcastically, even through his helmet. He released her hand and turned, grabbing the jetpack from the bench behind him. He attached it to his back with a soft click.</p><p>Vena stepped backwards and out of the way, but she raised her brow at his newfound confidence. "Mando, the Armorer said you had to train with that thing," she reminded him. </p><p>"It'll work," he muttered.</p><p>"Are you sure?" she said doubtfully.</p><p>"Here he comes!" shouted Cara. </p><p>Moff Gideon was flying low and right for them. Vena watched the Mandalorian ignite his jetpack, remaining on the ferry, waiting for Gideon to fly closer. He was flying parallel to the lava river, he fired a few times, missing them, and as he flew over the ferry, the Mandalorian shot up into the air, throwing his arm out and attaching himself to the TIE Fighter by the line in his vambrance. Vena whipped her head to follow the TIE Fighter, her eyes wide and her mouth opened in shock. </p><p>"Well, that's one way to do it," sighed Karga. "Come on, come on."</p><p>Cara and Karga hopped from the ferry and onto the plains. When Vena stepped onto the plains, she walked briskly, trying to see around or over the tunnel, her eyes searching in the air for the TIE Fighter and her dangling Mandalorian. She cleared the tunnel and saw a trail of grey smoke cascading down, the TIE Fighter, and felt the explosion beneath her feet. She watched the explosion with wide eyes, waiting for a speck in the distance, searching across the sky in front of her for a flying figure. </p><p>"You guys, I don't--" she turned around quickly, panicked, and turned right into the Mandalorian. She hadn't heard him land behind her. She bounced lightly against him, stepping back, her face flushing. "Oh, sorry. I didn't, um. Sorry."</p><p>"It's okay," he assured her. </p><p>"That was impressive, Mando, very impressive," praised Karga. He smiled at the Mandalorian. "It looks like your Guild rates have just gone up."</p><p>The Mandalorian ignored his intent. "Any more Stormtroopers?"</p><p>"I think we cleaned up the town," said Cara. She looked over at Karga, her brow raised with interest. "I'm thinking of staying around just to be sure."</p><p>"You're staying here?" asked the Mandalorian, surprised. </p><p>Karga let out a soft gasp, offended by his tone. "Well, why not? Nevarro is a very fine planet. And now that the scum and villainy have been washed away, it's very respectable again."</p><p>"As a Bounty Hunter hive?"</p><p>"Some of my favorite people are Bounty Hunters," said Karga, lightly punching the Mandalorian's shoulder. He placed his hands on his hips and turned to Cara. "And perhaps, this specimen of soldier might consider joining our ranks."</p><p>"Yeah," said Cara skeptically, elongating her response. "I've got some clerical concerns regarding my chain code."</p><p>"And if you would agree to become my enforcer, clerical concerns would be the least of your worries!' promised Karga. Vena had to chuckle; he fell into the role of businessman quite easily, it seemed. She glanced over at the Mandalorian, wondering if he found Karga as amusing as she did, when she saw him already pointing his helmet down at her and the Child. He turned back to Karga when he addressed them, cutting their moment short. "But you, my friend, you will be welcome back into the Guild with open arms. So, go off, enjoy yourself, and when you're ready to return, you will have the pick of all quarries."</p><p>The Mandalorian shook his head. "I'm afraid I have more pressing matters at hand."</p><p>Cara reached and squeezed the Child's ear lightly between her fingers. She grinned down at him, then placed her hand on Vena's shoulder, looking between the Togruta and the Mandalorian. "Take care of this little one," she said, though she knew she didn't have to, in order for it to happen. </p><p>Karga reached for the Child's ear, too. "Or maybe, it'll take care of you."</p><p>The Mandalorian nodded. His helmet tilted down to Vena. "You ready?"</p><p>Vena paused. "For what?"</p><p>"We have to get back to the Crest somehow," he said, holding out his arms.</p><p>Vena looked between his outstretched arms and his visor, her brow high on her face. "We aren't gonna walk like we did before?" she asked, eyeing the jetpack. He said nothing, only continued to hold out his arms for her. "Is that thing safe? Sturdy? The Armorer said you have to practice with it--"</p><p>The Mandalorian placed an arm around her waist and scooped under her knees. She wrapped an arm around his neck and held the Child close to her chest with her other arm, her face still frozen with skepticism, but she allowed him to grab her with no hesitation. She opened her mouth, already wanting to just walk, but he took a step into the air and she was suddenly airborne. Vena leaned closer to him, her grip around his neck tightening. She peered over his shoulder, watching Karga and Cara get smaller and smaller the higher they got. She started to relax and rested her chin on his shoulder, watching the lava plains pass underneath them. </p><p>"Does it go faster?" she asked him, quietly, but her lips were so close to his helmet that she knew he heard. She turned her head, leaning her right ear close to his helmet to hear his response. </p><p>"It does," he responded softly. "I'm sure you don't want that."</p><p>"I don't," she agreed, a small laugh coming from her lips. She rested her head back on his shoulder. "Just asking."</p><p>They flew for a short time. The longer they spent in the air, the safer she felt, especially with how tightly he was holding onto her. When he started to descend, Vena took her head from his shoulder and turned her head forward, seeing the Razor Crest. Her eyes settled upon the unfortunate end of their friend, Kuiil and his Blurrg beside him, and Vena was quick to tuck the Child closer into her body, speaking to him, turning his head towards her. She was sure he had seen a lot already, having been in the hands of the Empire, and she hoped most he would not remember, but anything she could hide from him, she was going to try to. </p><p>The Mandalorian dropped his arm from under her knees when he landed and she turned into his chest, her head ducked. He rested a hand on her shoulder, trying to offer her support. She hadn't known Kuiil a long time, neither had he, but he couldn't imagine she had seen many dead bodies in her time, much less the dead bodies of good people, acquaintances. Despite her clear discomfort and sadness, she offered to help him bury Kuiil and the Blurrg, but he denied, ushering her and the Child into the ship.</p><p>Vena hesitated, truly wanting to help him, but he encouraged her to go. She agreed and he lowered the ramp for her. She went directly into the cockpit, setting the Child down on the Mandalorian's chair, then falling backwards into the seat to the right, the seat that would become known as hers. She stared at the ceiling of the Razor Crest cockpit, in silence, unmoving, and her mind moving a million miles per second with the review of all that had just occurred since she left the ship a day ago. </p><p>Moff Gideon was dead. The Mandalorian Covert was murdered. IG-11 and Kuiil died. Vena knew her true name and the Mandalorian's. He almost died. He touched her headpiece. The Armorer told them the Jedi were an enemy of the Mandalorian's, but not the Child, specifically, so he was safe. But she wasn't. </p><p>In the silence of the Crest, Vena launched herself forward and put her hands over her head, blocking out the light, too. She raked her mind for any memory of the Jedi, where she had heard that name before-- Jedi. On Zygeria, she remembered, whispers of Jedi's infiltration the Slave Trade on Zygeria. She remembered associating the Jedi with the idea of hope, of freedom, of peace for her people. But that was no longer true. The Jedi hadn't saved her, and she didn't know anything about how the Togruta populated returned to Kiros, if it was the Jedi who saved them.</p><p>Vena's hands fell from her face. The Child was slumped back on his seat, imitating her former pose, watching her with wide eyes. "Are we Jedi?" she whispered to him. He tilted his head, a noise of interest exiting his mouth. She raised her eyebrow. "Do you think so? Are you a Jedi?"</p><p>When he continued to stare at her, Vena slumped in her seat again. Maker, she could never admit to the Mandalorian that she was like him. The Armorer deemed the Child as relatively harmless, which was not exactly true, but then again, Vena would be considered harmless to the Mandalorian, too, if they were ever to fight. Still, she had access to the power of an ancient enemy of his Creed. She could never divulge fully with him. Any urge she had to tell the truth, to know him and allow him to know her, for one of the first times in her life, had to be rethought. Whatever feelings she wanted to explore towards him, it couldn't happen. They were enemies, their people were. She could forget it, ignore it, but could he?</p><p>Vena stopped thinking when she heard his footsteps coming up the ramp. She threw her hands to her face and dragged them down, sobering herself from the deep thoughts of her situation. She would have to make a decision about what direction to go, but for now, it seemed she was going to stay with the Mandalorian. And not get attached. No attachments. Not anymore.</p><p>He crawled up the ladder. He greeted Vena, adding a wave of his hand for her visually, in case she hadn't heard him. He paused when he noticed the Child in his seat. He reached for the object in the Child's mouth, pulling out the skull necklace he had given to Cara. The Mandalorian sighed, running his thumb over the skull. </p><p>"I didn't think I'd see this again," he said softly, then released it, letting it sit back on the Kid's neck. "Why don't you hang on to that?"</p><p>The Mandalorian reached down and grabbed the Child from his seat, placing him in Vena's lap. She buckled both of them into her seat. He sat, then, rotating his chair back to face the front and started to tap his fingers along the dashboard, powering up the Razor Crest. He looked behind him, ensuring Vena and the Child were securely fastened, then he lifted the Razor Crest from the ground and sent her into space. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Kiros Livin’</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After the jump to hyperspace--where Vena eagerly watched him push the lever and held her breath excitedly--the Mandalorian set the controls to autopilot and announced he was going to find some food; he asked her politely to remain in the cockpit, which she had no issue with. She and the Child moved to the pilots seat, where she peered curiously over the dash, trying to read the console, find familiar controls to other ships she had been aboard. Her interest in the console forced the Child to look as well; with little time, he was talking nonsense to her, his fingers pointed in a direction. She worked with him, talking nonsense back to him, pointing across the board, until her hand reached onto a silver knob and he all but screamed in excitement. Vena shushed him, laughing, and twisted the knob off to hand to him. She was sure the Mandalorian wouldn't mind. It would screw back on, anyways. </p>
<p>Hours passed. She thought it strange when one hour passed, because who really took that long to eat, especially when it was only a portion packet, but she let it pass, wondering if he was maybe using the refresher while he knew she and the Child were going to stay in the cockpit. But, after almost four hours, Vena and the Child were beginning to be a bit restless cooped up in the cockpit, and she used her montrals--or rather, just the good one-- to sense where he was on the Razor Crest. She felt nothing. No movement, along the ship, except the vibration of the engines running. </p>
<p>Vena sat on the floor, where the opening of the ladder was. "Mando? Mando, you good?" When he didn't respond, Vena looked back at the Child as he was shoving the small knob into his mouth. She sighed and grabbed him, holding him to her hip as she crawled down the ladder. She set the Child on the ground when her feet touched, then turned, scanning the bay for the Mandalorian. She found him immediately, having fell over on the floor, and she rushed to him. She gently rolled him onto his back, her hands flying to his helmet, trying to peer into his dark visor as she repeated his name. She grabbed his wrist and pulled his glove down to expose the skin on his inner wrist. She couldn't think too much into if that might have been a violation of his Creed--she didn't even know if he was alive. But his pulse was steady, alive, so she tucked his shirt back into his glove, then sat back on her heels. </p>
<p>The Child waddled over, looking up to her with a wonderous expression. Vena shook her head. "He's probably just tired, my dear. You don't have to heal him. Thank you, though, for wanting to try," she told him softly, running a finger over the tip of his ear. She sighed, pouting. "Sure wish you were big enough to help me move him, though." </p>
<p>Vena almost broke her back dragging the Mandalorian's body from the floor and into the closet that his bed resided. His bed space was almost laughable, how hard the padding was and how small the space was, but she got him up and into the bed anyway. She climbed on the bed next to him, adjusting his arms and legs to lay comfortably. She wasn't sure, but she was betting on him having a concussion of some sort. Bacta Spray saved him, but that didn't mean it didn't have any after effects. She had no idea how to turn off the lights in his ship, so she slipped her cloak from over her head and laid it over his visor to block the light from his eyes.</p>
<p>She crawled out of his bed. As she looked around, she noticed he hadn't even made food before he must have passed out. So, Vena, after a short pep-talk to herself that it wasn't creepy, rummaged through the drawers and crevices throughout his ship to gather supplies for him. She felt as though she were violating his space, going through his things, but there wasn't much of him in that ship. It was all things of necessity. Tools, weapons, basic food, the refresher. He had nothing of sentiment, sans his weapons, and the more Vena familiarized herself with the ship, the more she saw how simple he appeared to be. Even she traveled light, but she still wore her bracelet and kept her journal with her for sentimental value. </p>
<p>Vena gathered some blankets at the foot of his bed. She stirred some portion packets together for her and the Child, leaving an extra for the Mandalorian when he did wake. She hoped it was relatively soon, so she could speak to him about where they were headed. She didn't know how long he had planned for them to travel in hyperspace, but she didn't trust herself to pilot the ship without his consent or a slight walkthrough. </p>
<p>He didn't wake for a long while. Vena had feed the kid and herself, taken a shower, bathed the Child, read him into a nap, fell asleep herself--before she heard him start to move and she was woken up. She had fallen asleep in a chair at the foot of his bed, her feet kicked up on the edge, her journal and the Child both on her lap. </p>
<p>The Mandalorian moved the blanket from over his head. He pushed himself to sit up, mumbling slightly. </p>
<p>"Hey," greeted Vena, yawning. She glanced down at the Child, ensuring he was still asleep, before she looked back over at him. "You feel okay?"</p>
<p>"What happened?" he croaked. He cleared his throat. </p>
<p>"I think you passed out," she said honestly. She waved her hand at him, her brow together. "Lay back down. You need to rest, Mando. You almost died on me, then you did some crazy Bantha poodoo with the TIE Fighter, and your body said it needs a break."</p>
<p>His response was without a pause. "Did it speak to you?"</p>
<p>Vena squinted her eyes at him as he rubbed the back of his neck. "If you are well enough to make a joke, I worry about the state of your mental health," she told him.</p>
<p>He had another question ready for her. “You speak Huttese?”</p>
<p>She reached for the glass behind her and handed it to him. He reached forward to meet her hand. "A little,” she sighed, wondering again why he decided to ask so much of her. “Drink. You have to stay hydrated. You want food?"</p>
<p>"I can--"</p>
<p>"No," she said, glaring at him so menacingly he froze in place. "You stay. Rest. I don't want you passing out again. I already threw out my back dragging you today."</p>
<p>"I have ration packets in one of the cabinets upstairs, but I can--"</p>
<p>"I know, I found them," she interrupted. She tossed her journal from her lap and to the table behind her. She shifted the Child into her arm, handing the Mandalorian the packet and a bowl. "Hope you don't mind me going through your stuff, but I was looking for a miracle get-well kit for you when you did wake up."</p>
<p>He shrugged, unbothered. "It's your space, now, too, isn't it?"</p>
<p>Vena blushed. "I guess," she mumbled, turning her face to hide her warmed cheeks from him. They hadn’t had time to speak much about their new arrangements. Vena decided she was going to stay, and now the Mandalorian assumed she was going to, but they both hadn’t consulted the other about it, nor for how long. Or where she would sleep. Or a lot of things, really. There was a number of conversations wanting and needing to be had, but lacking the confidence by either party to discuss, or simply the time, given that the Mandalorian decided to fall unconscious at the start of their journey.</p>
<p>In time, Vena thought. In some time, we’ll talk about the future arrangements. And what happened on Nevarro.</p>
<p>She cleared her throat. "Um, just call out when your helmet is back on, okay? And if you want to shower or something, let me know, so I can be somewhat close in case you pass out again. Please?"</p>
<p>"Alright," he agreed.</p>
<p>"But you're feeling okay? Any better?" she clarified.</p>
<p>"Just dizzy," he admitted to her.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> He paused to scoot forward in his bed. Vena helped him push the table closer to him. He started to mix his packet together with the water in the bowl. His head tilted up at her briefly, gaining her attention. “Are you okay? Your ear?”</span></p>
<p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">”I’ll be alright,” she muttered. "You'll be okay to eat?"</span>
</p>
<p>He ignored her. "Will you <span class="Apple-converted-space">need to see someone? A specialist or—“</span></p>
<p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">"It's irreversible damage, Mando," she interrupted him, forcing a smile through her heavy sigh. She didn't met his eye, as she normally did, too shamed by her newfound disability to be forward about it, despite him asking. "I don't have ears, not really. My hearing is in line with my montrals, the explosion damaged the left one. I can't really hear much from that side or see with it, if that makes any sense."</span>
</p>
<p>He remained quiet for a bit, making Vena antsy for his response, wondering if he even was going to respond or what he was thinking or--</p>
<p>“You ever been in the snow?”</p>
<p>Vena met his visor, her brow raised. She emitted a small and awkward laugh, shaking her head. "No. Why?"</p>
<p>"I just don't think your ears would work well in the snow," he said, rather oddly and out of place. He continued, "Snow absorbs sound, produces an auditory static. Would probably make it hard to hear. Or, see, I suppose."</p>
<p>Vena nodded thoughtfully. She wished she could be surprised by her thought that he was strange, but given what she knew of him as a whole, she really wasn’t. He was certainly trying to make conversation, though. She had to applaud that. </p>
<p>"I wouldn't know,” she admitted to him. “Never seen snow before. It's cold, isn't it?"</p>
<p>He nodded. </p>
<p>"Do you think I'd like it?"</p>
<p>The Mandalorian looked at Vena, tilting his helmet a smidge, barely noticeable. "Yeah," he muttered. "I do."</p>
<p>"Alright," she said, nodding her head. She was quick to change the topic. "Then, are we headed anywhere in particular? In case you pass out again, do I need to know any buttons or anything to pilot this ship?"</p>
<p>He shook his head. "I put us on a course to some point in the Unknown Region. Nowhere specific."</p>
<p>"Right, so then do we need to figure something out?" asked Vena instead. "You killed Moff Gideon, but...Does that mean you're both free of the bounty?"</p>
<p>He nodded once. "It should. Guaranteed? Not sure. But Gideon was in charge of the operation and he's dead. I don't think any Troopers are loyal enough to keep hunting. The Armorer gave me a mission: find his people," he said, nodding to the sleeping baby in her arms. </p>
<p>They both said nothing more; the end note of the conversation being that they both hadn't heard much of the Jedi, nor others that looked like him, so they had no leading point on where to start looking. Vena, of course, hadn't been tasked with finding the Child's people, and she hadn't exactly asked the Mandalorian to stay on the Razor Crest either, but it was an agreement they both accepted without much conversation, it seemed. She was in on his mission. While the Mandalorian believed it was out of the kindness of her heart, or because he asked her back on Sorgan to help protect the Child, the other truth only Vena knew was that wanted to find the Jedi for herself, too. </p>
<p>Vena apologized for asking so much of him so soon. She turned, aiming to climb back up the ladder, when he called her name, Hala, and she stopped. She hadn't noticed the smile on her lips when he said her real name, but he surely did. </p>
<p>"Thank you," he said honestly. </p>
<p>Vena smiled. "You're welcome."</p>
<p>•</p>
<p>When the Mandalorian was himself again, and it did take a few days of Vena playing caretaker, he finally returned to the cockpit of the Razor Crest, well enough to fly and ready to start to find some answers. Or, rather, he presented himself that way to Vena. The truth was, there wasn't a rush. Moff Gideon was dead. No one was chasing them. They didn't have to keep moving.</p>
<p>He'd had time to think about a path to take, namely, finding other Mandalorian's possibly from his own Covert or from others, who could point him in the direction of a Jedi or find a Mandalorian who did know more about the Jedi. He made a plan quite quickly; the problem was, he didn't want to follow it immediately. </p>
<p>While he had laid there, his mind wandering, his eyes hurting by the lights in the Crest, he was stuck inside of the own thoughts inside his head and he kept finding himself asking what the rush was for. Again, he thought, Moff Gideon was dead, he and the Kid were practically free, and Vena was along for the ride, too, for however long she wanted to until she asked him to drop her off on a planet. He guessed, anyway. They hadn't talked at all about what her plan was. He realized then he hadn't truly given her an option to stay on Nevarro, if she had wanted. Clearly, she hadn't. </p>
<p>But there wasn't a rush. He didn't have much of a life to return to. Bounty Hunting, sure, but even Karga needed time to reestablish Nevarro as a Bounty Hunters hub. The Mandalorian’s only priority now was to find the Child's people. He had a road to start on. He just was in no rush to start on it. </p>
<p>So, when he and Vena were in the cockpit, he asked her if there was anywhere she wanted to go. <br/><br/></p>
<p>“What do you mean?” she asked curiously. “We have to go find Baby’s people.”</p>
<p>To that, he didn’t say very much. He couldn’t, really, as he was wondering how exactly to tell her his thoughts. Or if he wanted to. He and Vena hadn’t known each other long at all, so he couldn’t tell her outright that he wasn’t in much of a rush. He couldn’t explain why he wasn’t in a rush. She would ask questions and then he would be silent, unsure of what to say, because he didn’t even know what was going on in his head.</p>
<p>So, he had to lie. <br/><br/></p>
<p>“I think we should lay low for a while,” he told her, surprising himself with how easily the lie fell from his tongue. “Moff Gideon is dead, but we should stay in one place for a little bit. See if the tracker is really done with.”</p>
<p>Vena was quiet. It seemed he had forgotten she could tell when someone was lying. </p>
<p>“Sure,” she said. “Wouldn’t want to lead enemies to the Jedi, would we?”</p>
<p>”Right,” he agreed. <br/><br/>Vena squinted at the back of his head. She had to give it to him. He put up a good show. No fidgeting, no change in his heartbeat, he was firm and together, as he always was. But Vena had known he was lying anyway. She was suspicious about what, what reason he would have to lie to her, but she remembered she was lying to him about who she truly was, and she couldn’t be too upset by it.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, she had to keep an eye on him until she figured out what reason he had to lie to her, when they had been as honest as they felt comfortable to be thus far. </p>
<p>A planet on the dashboard caught her eye. Her home world. She blurted out its name without realizing and he stopped, turning his helmet in her direction.</p>
<p>”Kiros?” he repeated. "Your--"</p>
<p>"--home world," breathed Vena.</p>
<p>She set the Child on the chair and stood, leaning forward to peer closer to the planet on the dashboard. She hovered over it with her sleek fingers, breathing gently, trying to imagine how it looked in her memory, compared to the flat circle on the ships navigator that indicated it as a planet.</p>
<p>"I...I haven't been back there since I was taken."</p>
<p>He watched her face as it looked at the dashboard in a mixture of disbelief and envy. He wanted to ask her thoughts, but he didn't, fearing she wouldn't answer if he asked her questions about a clearly sore subject. He was sure she didn't remember much, because he was somewhere around the same age as her when he was taken as a Child by the Mandalorian's. That fact made him feel somewhat closer to her; the idea that they both didn't remember their home worlds, they were both grown and a little far from their culture. But even if he did feel they had aspects of their lives in common, he still wouldn't admit that to her. He feared talking to her regularly, let alone to divulge about their lives. He waited. She would talk if she wanted to. </p>
<p>And she did. It took a little bit, for her to think about what exactly she wanted to divulge to him, if anything, but she did. Solely because of the information she knew of him--his name, that his parents were killed, he was a Foundling. His life was exposed to her and, she supposed, she wanted to level the playing ground with him. </p>
<p>"I haven't been back there since I was taken," she started, repeating her earlier words. She sounded saddened by the fact, but pushed through to explain to him. "I've seen it my whole life. In dreams, in my memories. But I have no idea if any of it is <em>real</em> or my imagination." </p>
<p>The Mandalorian understood. He remembered trying to remember what his home world looked like, or what his parents did. But with time, it vanished. He forgot. He got over what happened to him, just like everyone in the galaxy often forgets what horrors happened to them as children. Everyone had a story, or some tragedy. And they all just kept going. You had to. </p>
<p>"We don't have to," he mumbled to her. </p>
<p>Vena glanced at his visor before she shook her head. "No, I think we should," she said softly.</p>
<p>She looked beyond the dashboard and into the stars. She would not tell him, but when she caught sight of her home planet's name on his dashboard, she felt immediately in her heart that it was where they were meant to go. It was that power, inside of her, drawing her back to Kiros, even after she had been gone for so long. </p>
<p>"It's shaded, secluded. A nice place to hide," she told him. </p>
<p>"I thought you didn't know if your memory is real," he said cautiously. </p>
<p>She tapped the screen in front of him, where it displayed a description of the environment and its climate. "Rivers, waterfalls, valleys. Shade. Isolated," she explained to him. "Good place to hide, if nothing else."</p>
<p>"Is there anything else?" he had to wonder. </p>
<p>Vena and him shared a look, his of obvious curiosity, and hers of intrigue at his question. It was clear she did have an answer, that, yes, there was something else drawing her back to Kiros, but she wasn't going to tell him and he didn't want to ask. He assumed her outward anxiety over the planet was from having not been back to it since she was five, or simply from having the option to return, which was obvious she never had a chance to, or perhaps, never wanted to. But now, that was the plan. </p>
<p>"No," she said.</p>
<p>She turned and picked the Child up, placing him on her lap and strapping in. He watched her through the slight reflection on the dash.</p>
<p>"Ready when you are, Captain," she joked, but her tone was flat and not like herself. She was anxious. She wasn't hiding it very well.</p>
<p>The Mandalorian said nothing more. He punched in the coordinates to Kiros, slid the lever forward to enter into hyperspace, and waited to watch that big green planet appear ahead of them. </p>
<p>•</p>
<p>With Vena's instruction, when they entered the atmosphere, she led him deeper into the planet, into a jungle of light green leaves and vines, where he landed the Razor Crest next to a small waterfall. It was not noticeable from above, though Vena assured there was not many aircraft entering the planet, and the greenery ran high enough to conceal both the waterfall and the Crest. He noted how smart it was, to conceal the Crest by a waterfall; the loud noise of the waterfall would conceal whatever possible noise the three of them made, or hide the ship powering up, if they needed a quick getaway. She blushed, but he neglected to comment on it. </p>
<p>Vena barely waited for the ship to power down before she was down the ladder and at the base of the bay, waiting anxiously for him to open the doors. If she tried hard enough, she could sometimes remember the smell of her planet. The wet air, the dew, the condensation. She hoped that fact was true and not something her brain had wrongly attributed to Kiros.</p>
<p>She bounced her weight between her feet, her fingers tapping along the Child's back as he mumbled nonsense to her. The Mandalorian hit the ramp on his dashboard before he slid down the ladder to join her. </p>
<p>When he stepped off the ramp, she was standing a single step off of it. She froze. She was breathing, trying to breathe, though she was trying to hide it from him. It was clear to him that she was overwhelmed by the reality of being back hitting her. She thought she was going to be happy, or excited, to see Kiros in her recent memory, but any feeling she had was duped by her abrupt sensory overload.</p>
<p>Only one of her montrals worked properly, she could only see and hear so far to her right, while her left was essentially blinding and deaf, but she could hear the birds, the Kiros birds, squawking away in the trees. She could hear them over the repetitive crushing of the waterfall hitting the river beneath, the rush of the water down the shallow river in front of them, the small critters scurrying away from them. She could smell the wetness of the air, the damp leaves all around them. Through her boots, she could feel the weight of the waterfall. There was noise, so much noise, so much her montrals could see, and all she could connect it to was her nightmares. Being dragged out of her home, away from the loud water, away from the taste of the damp air, from the birds-- she remembered what Kiros was in her five year old memory the moment her foot was back on the soil and she couldn't breathe. </p>
<p>"Hala," he said softly, and Vena's wide eyes turned to him, focusing on him, his dark visor, watching the bright sun fade around him, hearing the waterfall fade out, seeing him, focusing on him. She couldn't hide her panic from him when he had seen it so clearly on her face. He held his hands out and she gave the Child to him, then slapped her hands over her montrals, tapping her fingers along both of them, her eyes softening as her chest heaved in a deep breath. </p>
<p>"We don't have to stay here," he continued. He wanted to reach out for her. He didn't know what was happening to her, besides the obvious idea that she was overwhelmed, or that her senses were overloaded. He just wanted her to know they could leave and forget that planet, find somewhere else to lay low. </p>
<p>Vena shook her head. "I'm fine," she said, even though the mention of her name sent more thoughts into her frenzied brain. The last time she had ever been called by her real, true name was on Kiros, and she couldn't even remember it. She didn't even know her real name. For the majority of her life, she had gone by a fraction of her family name, and truly thought it was her own. What a disgrace, she probably was, to her family. She wondered if any of them were alive, or if they had returned to Kiros. If they would recognize her, or want her, even. </p>
<p>The Mandalorian watched her fingertips dig into her montrals and he set the Child on the ground. He hesitated, but eventually took Vena's arms and convinced her to sit on the ground with him, both of them on their knees, Vena being forced to face him. He slid his hands down to her hands, holding them, not bothered by how tightly she was clutching onto his hands. His brow was caved so deep as he watched her focus on his eyes, meet his visor and thus, his eyes, although she didn't know it, and he lifted the chin of his helmet to signal to her to breathe in, then lowered it to breathe out. He didn't prompt her to, but she started to speak as she calmed down, and regained control over her senses and her thoughts. </p>
<p>"I've seen this place in my dreams," she whispered, horrified. She closed her eyes. "I remember being taken," she choked out, shaking her head. Despite her eyes being closed, tears fell. He neglected to wipe them, though he held the sudden urge to. "I walked out of the Crest and I remembered the last time I felt all of this, saw it, everything."</p>
<p>"You're safe," he told her; the only thing he could promise her. "You will not leave Kiros unless you want to. I won't let anyone take you."</p>
<p>Vena nodded at his words. "I'm safe," she repeated softly, barely audible. "I know I am. You're here," she whispered. </p>
<p>The Mandalorian couldn't think of a thing to say. She trusted him. He already knew she trusted him to keep her safe--they'd fought together twice, watched out for each other. But something about this moment in particular, verbalizing it, hearing the truth and the sincerity in her voice as she knew he would protect her, made his face warm. It was all he had to offer her, his protection, but he knew it was not something she would ever take for granted. He hoped, for as long as she would let him, that he could make her feel safe. Out of the hundreds of people he had interacted with in his lifetime, if anyone deserved the life of not having to look over their shoulder, it was Vena. She'd been through enough. </p>
<p>"If you were wondering, I didn't return to Kiros before this because I don't remember my family," she told him, inhaling a shaky breath. She opened her eyes to look at him, almost expecting a disgusted look from him, before she remembered she couldn't see his face. Only feel his feelings. But even his feelings remained still, just concerned, clearly, for her. "I don't know what they look like, I didn't know my name until a few weeks ago, and if they're alive, they don't want me."</p>
<p>The Mandalorian wanted to disagree. Vena was an amazing woman. Her family would be proud to see the woman she grew to be--</p>
<p>"Cara mentioned the Togruta are a heavily community-based people, I know you remember," she whispered, smiling softly, because they were both aware of the fact that he remembered a lot of things about her. Whether he naturally had a good memory, or he was simply interested, Vena didn't ask. She continued, "You don't just leave your people, unless you choose a path of independence, or...I guess, if you just never get found."<br/><br/>"Do you remember much?" he chose to ask her. A simple, broad question, that would keep her talking, if she wanted to. He was not going to push. He continued to hold her hands and maintain his chin moving up and down, reminding her to breathe through her words. </p>
<p>"I know only a few words from the language. Wouldn't know customs anymore," she admitted to him. She paused. "Besides what I told you."</p>
<p>"About touching your headpiece.”</p>
<p>”Right.”</p>
<p>To that, they both said nothing. It replayed in both of their heads, the echo of Vena admitting to him it was an intimate act, and the Mandalorian remembering her words just before he did reach out and touch her. He just wanted her to know, in that moment, when he thought he was dying, that he felt something for her. Of course, if he would have known he would survive, he might have thought twice about touching her headpiece. Now, an awkward silence hung over the air, because he knew he would not be the first to initiate the conversation that could come with that. He didn’t even know if he would be honest with her, if she did ask him.</p>
<p>For a second, she thought that would be the moment that they talked about it. He inhaled, a sharp draw, like he was going to, and she waited, her face expectant, but when he remained silent, Vena did, too. </p>
<p>He changed the subject: “I don’t know much of my language either. Mando’a.”</p>
<p>Oddly enough, she was thankful to have something else to speak about, too, which relieved him. It seemed she didn’t want to have a confrontation about what he meant, after all.</p>
<p>“An interesting sounding language,” she said, remembering his words to her in that same occasion. </p>
<p>“Certainly,” he agreed.</p>
<p>Vena looked down at their conjoined hands and released her grip on his hands, returning them to her lap. She smiled shyly at him, apologetic, to which he told her instantly to not worry about it. He didn’t mind. He was only glad to see she was adjusting alright to the new surrounding.</p>
<p>The Child noticed Vena’s shifted mood and the crease between his eye softened. He cooed, drawing their eyes to him. He pushed himself to his feet and raised his arms into the air. Vena bent over and grabbed him, he attempted to wrap his arms around her neck, and she tilted her head into him, closing her eyes, a small smile lifting her lips. She pressed a kiss to the side of his head.</p>
<p>“Thanks, babe. I feel a lot better now,” she whispered to him.</p>
<p>The Mandalorian glanced back towards the Razor Crest. Vena noticed.</p>
<p>“Listen, I think I’m going to go off a little into the trees and sit by myself for a bit,” she decided softly. “It won’t be for long, probably, I just want a few minutes by myself, I think.”</p>
<p>The Mandalorian nodded. “You stay here,” he offered. He pushed himself to his feet and offered her a hand, which she denied politely, remaining on the ground.</p>
<p>“You heard the Armorer,” he continued. “I have to practice with the jetpack. So I’ll do that.”</p>
<p>“Where will you go?” she asked hurriedly, worried. “Don’t go too far, I think Kiros is safe, and relatively slow in the tech world, but that doesn’t mean someone can’t—“</p>
<p>“I’ll be alright, Hala,” he said softly.</p>
<p>She was on her knees, still, her chin tilted high in the air to look up at him, her lips split softly, her eyes wide with worry. He wanted to touch her, again, he had the urge to lay a gentle touch to her face, or her montral, but despite a slight twitch of his hand, the want to do it, he held himself back.</p>
<p>The Mandalorian cleared his throat, broken from his own trance. He looked over at the opened hatch of the Crest again, as if he was hoping for some distraction that would never come. <br/><br/></p>
<p>“I’ll be back soon. Will you, uh, will you be alright to be by yourself?” he asked, wanting to clarify and ensure before he did so. The thought occurred to him moments later that she requested to be alone, but he ignored it.</p>
<p>"Yeah," said Vena, nodding. She looked better, much better, and he was more comfortable leaving her by herself when she looked more self assured. Joking, she giggled, "Do I look like I can't handle myself while you're gone?"</p>
<p>The Mandalorian sighed. <br/><br/>Vena smiled, not a playful smile, but a thankful one that reached her eyes, too. She hoped that he knew she was grateful for his aid in her moment of panic, but beyond that, for lodging on his ship, the kindness he’d shown, sharing his necessities. When all was said and done with them, when she and the Kid were with the Jedi, she would offer all her credits and then some. It wouldn’t be lost on her, how kind he had been to her. His heart was such a contrast to the man he portrayed himself to be, but Vena would never forget it. She hoped, one day, she would stop being so enticed by it. </p>
<p>“Thank you,” she blurted out, without really realizing she was speaking her mind. She admitted to him: “After Nevarro, I wasn't sure if you were just gonna leave me there or dump me off on the next planet, but... You didn’t, obviously, so...Thanks."</p>
<p>"Well, the Kid likes you," he defended pretty quickly. He shifted on his feet, something she had never seen him do, as he was normally so stiff and still and conscious about the movements he did make. But Vena... Vena made him nervous. "And I do. Too."</p>
<p>"Noted,” she said, biting her lip to hide the grin on her face. She tried to change the subject quickly to calm his very loud heartbeat. "If you're worried about leaving me alone, what do you suggest?"</p>
<p>"I could teach you some stuff. Just basic. How to punch—"</p>
<p>Vena scoffed playfully. "I worked in a brothel, Mando, you think I haven't had to punch my fair share of patrons?"</p>
<p>Fearlessly, he held out his open palm to her. "Do it then."</p>
<p>She squinted at his hand before she rolled her eyes back up to his darkened visor. "I am not gonna hit your armor. I'll break an arm."</p>
<p>He continued to hold out his hand.</p>
<p>"What, is there Beskar in your gloves too?" she asked suspiciously. “Will I genuinely hurt myself punching your hand?”</p>
<p>”No.”</p>
<p>Vena neglected to stand, although, she realized she would’ve had more power standing, but she drew an arm back and punched the palm of his hand. She closed her fist and let it drop to her lap, blinking in a long and slow movement, attempting so genuinely to hide the pain radiating and warming her knuckles. When she dared to glance up at the Mandalorian, he was looking at her, blankly, as always, but nodded once. </p>
<p>"Not too bad."</p>
<p>Vena was almost offended. “‘Not too bad,’” she mocked in a robotic voice, scoffing. “Not too bad. I’m old!”</p>
<p>”You are not old.”</p>
<p>”You wouldn’t know! I could be 80!” she said, shaking a finger at him. “Besides, just so you know, a punch in my prime knocked out a frisky Lasat!"</p>
<p>His helmet feigned the skepticism for him. “Too bad I also know you're good at lying."</p>
<p>She paused and squinted at him. "You can't tell when I'm lying."</p>
<p>He ignored her. “If you don't wanna learn, I won't teach you."</p>
<p>"I'm not saying I don't wanna learn, I'm just saying that I think I'm a good enough shot that I don't have to worry about outside sources, usually,” she defended. </p>
<p>He looked at her side, where her holster was, but it was free of her gun. "Yeah?" he asked.</p>
<p>She blushed. "Well, of course I'm not wearing my blaster right now. We just got off the ship. And I have you!"</p>
<p>"You shouldn't count on me to protect you, Hala," he sighed. "Not that I won't try, but I won't always be close enough to you." </p>
<p>"Then I will simply struggle until you are."</p>
<p>The Mandalorian knew she understood what he was saying to her. He assumed she wouldn't be joking, as she was, if she didn't truly comprehend what he was asking of her, but, nevertheless, he still stared blankly at her, knowing she also understood that he found her annoying in the moment. </p>
<p>"Difficult," he stated. </p>
<p>Vena smiled. "With you, it's starting to come naturally," she admitted playfully to him. </p>
<p>He sighed. "I'm going to start my training," he told her. He held out his hands for the Child, remembering how she had asked to be left alone, but when the Child snuggled closer into her, hiding behind the lekku dangling from her chest, the Mandalorian sighed and waved his hand. </p>
<p>"Guess he's staying, then," she noted, shaking her head. "We'll be alright. You go ahead."</p>
<p>The Mandalorian turned back to the Crest for his jetpack. He stepped back out onto the planet only moments later, the cape moved off to one side of the jetpack, the jetpack bright and shiny, waiting to be used. His helmet turned to where Vena continued to sit, he lowered it to her, a goodbye, before he tilted his helmet into the air, and his jetpack shot him up and away into the sunny sky of Kiros. </p>
<p>With the Mandalorian away, out of her eyesight and far enough away that her good montral couldn't pick him up, Vena set the Child to sit across from her. She snapped her fingers a few times to get his attention to her, making eye contact, and his ears tilted as she spoke non-verbally to him. Through their connection, what little she could establish, she spoke brief thoughts in her head and extended her feelings out to him. Breathe, relax, calm. Meditate. When he started to stay still, focused on her, Vena fell to her bottom, her legs crossed, and she placed her hands on her knees. She closed her eyes, too, with a soft inhale. Moments later, she opened one eye, peaking at the Child. His eyes were closed, too. </p>
<p>Vena nodded in appreciation. She definitely hadn't expected him to understand the gist of meditation as easily as he did, but she wasn't going to argue about that one. Instead, she relaxed herself, her shoulders, let the remaining noise around her drown out, listened to her own breathing, and soon enough, she was gone from the physical world and only existing in her own head.</p>
<p>She only felt the need for the detachment that came with meditation because of how quickly her life had changed in a matter of days. Again, she reviewed all that had occurred since she met the Mandalorian on Sorgan, replaying it in her mind, analyzing their interactions, remembering their talk with the Armorer. Vena had chosen her path: use the Mandalorian to get to the Jedi, do not tell him she was a Jedi, then be prepared for him to be upset when she would have to admit to him that she was. She was using him, she was smart enough to realize, and she couldn't stop herself from feeling genuinely terrible about it, the more she thought about how kind he had been in return to her that entire length of time they had known each other. Granted, it had been short, but it was true. </p>
<p>Vena had known from their first encounter that he was a good man. She never intended to use his resources to find the Jedi. She didn't even know there was a name for people like her until she met him and the Child. Her curiosity outweighed any secondary thoughts she'd had about using him, in those moments she decided to stay with him, but having time to think about the situation at hand was making her heart hurt. She didn't want to use him, she wanted to tell him the truth, but she also knew he wouldn't ask her why she decided to stay with him. And beyond wanting to find the Jedi--which was not an option--Vena didn't know what other reason she could tell him, besides wanting to help reunite the Child with his people. Hopefully, that would be enough for the Mandalorian to believe, and obvious. </p>
<p>Yet, any justification she thought of was still not enough to convince herself that what she was doing was okay. She thought that subconsciously, she'd known her motives were wrong, to some degree, and that's why she was being so kind to him. She could not recall another time someone had transported her to a planet and she'd made their food, been trusted to watch the ship, been trusted to even stay on the ship. However, the Mandalorian was clearly not someone she had only met once, which was also different than anyone she paid to transport her off-planet, but still. Vena hadn't been nearly as friendly or trustworthy to any of her pilots in her entire life, but that one, that Mandalorian...She was in trouble. </p>
<p>She had always been someone different. That was her thing. The real Vena was gone the moment she was taken from Kiros as a child. She was beaten, degraded, overworked from the time she was a child until her late teens; the Vena she knew herself to be for the first half of her life was quiet, docile. She'd become a chameleon of sorts, as she grew, as the galaxy continued to show her that she was valued, not for who she was, but what she was: a girl, an exotic girl, skinny, cute. She played into what got her money. If they wanted a submissive girl, she was that. If they wanted a dominant girl, she was that. If they wanted someone to beat and take it, she was that, or she was silent, or she was loud. She barely knew herself, for so much of her life, and if she was being honest, she still didn't.</p>
<p>Years after she'd stopped working as a whore, all Vena knew how to do was lie. Over the years, she'd defended to herself that she lied for her safety, to avoid slavery, to be safe from the overarching Empire, and the more she said it, the more true that statement became. Now, decades away from the little girl she was, the teen she became, alone with a Mandalorian and a Child, searching for a magical culture she just so happened to belong to, Vena had to reconsider who she was and who she wanted to be. </p>
<p>She knew she did not truly want to lie to the Mandalorian, about anything. A good person was hard to find, and even if he was mad at her, when all was said and done, she did not want her time with him to only last a short duration. She needed to lie, because she knew how strongly he followed his Creed, and if there was even the slightest chance he would find her as an enemy, she did not want to take it. But, she decided, she didn't have to lie to him about much else. Nothing more could truly be a secret, since he knew the basic facts of her life, she held nothing more to lie about. She could be truthful, herself, allow whatever feelings came to her forefront to be, and find out who she was alongside himself and the Child. </p>
<p>She just could not allow herself to be attached to them. Somewhere in her heart, she knew they would not be together for long. Their journey was meant to reunite the Child with the Jedi, and if all else worked, Vena would leave the Mandalorian, then eventually, even she and the Child would be separated, too.</p>
<p>She then saw a short vision of herself, the Mandalorian holding her, the Child in their arms, laughing, touching, holding close, but it disappeared like a fleeting shadow as Vena realized she had never loved anyone. She had no idea what it would feel like to be loved or to love, and she thought maybe she was better off with that statement being true. </p>
<p>They were all simply together. Colleagues. Friends, even, with time. Whatever label they wanted to be seen as wouldn't matter, in the end, because they would not be together for long, she figured. So she could be friendly, laugh, play with the Child, joke with the Mandalorian, care for one another, but with time, all they would be to each other would be a memory of a journey. That would have to be true. It was true for every other person she had met and been friends with along her great journey of life. Everyone left. It was just a truth. </p>
<p>Vena was abruptly pulled from her thoughts when a scream intercepted her train of concetration; she inhaled a deep, breathless gasp as her surroundings were forced back onto her, and everything came back at once--her hearing, her sight, her touch, all so fast and so abrupt that for a few moments, she had to think to remember where she was. When she could control her senses and breathe, she noticed the Child in her lap, clutching onto her, they were alone and safe, the Mandalorian was not back with them, yet, but instead, there was a bird where the Child had been sitting. </p>
<p>It was a Kiros bird. Vena sensed its pain within seconds of being near it. She clutched the Child in one arm, holding him tightly so he felt safely, and he watched from behind his hands as Vena held out a closed fist to the bird. The bird was a dark purple on its chest and on the front of its head, while a dark blue, almost green ran along the backside of its wings and back. Vena didn't have to look for long to figure that its left wing was injured, curled into its stomach. Its big black eyes looked at Vena and the Child, somewhat pleadingly. </p>
<p>"I will help, my dear, if you let me," said Vena quietly. She left her extended fist out, waiting patiently for a response. She sent waves of her own calm attitude to the bird, hoping the beautiful girl would feel it, too. </p>
<p>The bird chirped before she hopped closer to Vena's hand, pecking it softly, before Vena opened it, and the bird smashed her head into Vena's hand. Vena smiled and rubbed her hand along the birds head. She spoke softly to the Child in her arms, ensuring his safety, and soon, the bird was also on Vena's lap, allowing the Child to pet it, too. </p>
<p>"I suppose you can't really answer what happened to your wing, but why don't I try to get you some bandages?" asked Vena.</p>
<p>The bird seemed to understand Vena's willingness to help and jumped from her lap, tapping and dancing excitedly along the ground. </p>
<p>Vena asked the Child to stay, pointing a stern finger at him, before she walked back to the Razor Crest. She remembered where the Med Packs were, which were unnecessary for the bird, as she would truly only need bandages. Vena rummaged around for a spare roll of bandage and returned back to the Child and the bird, surprised to find that they both actually did stay in place, and were animatedly having a conversation in their own respective babbles and chirping. </p>
<p>However, when Vena approached, ready to wrap the birds wing, she found that the bird was healed. Her wing was no longer clutched to her chest, she was flapping both of them around, lifting herself into the air a bit, almost showing off that she was cured.</p>
<p>Vena slowly turned her head to the Child, who was staring up at her with a toothy grin. She sighed and rested her hands on her hips.</p>
<p>"Baby," she said pointedly. "You can't heal everyone all the time or you'll exert yourself." </p>
<p>He continued to look up at her with an innocent grin. </p>
<p>Vena looked between the chirping bird and the smiling baby, wondering what her life had come to, but she ignored her thoughts. She had no reason to resort back into her meditative state, so instead, she took the Child closer to the river. Vena could see the small pit in which the waterfall was crashing down to was deep, deep enough to not be able to see the bottom, but as she walked further from it, it became shallow.</p>
<p>She encouraged the Child to step into the running water to play. The bird jumped right in, splashing around in the shallow water, splashing the Child and Vena. She plucked her boots from her feet, briefly remembering Cara's broken promise for new shoes, then submerged her feet into the cold, rushing water blissfully.</p>
<p>The Child bent over and stuck his fingers into the water, mumbling an unsure sound, but Vena encouraged him, wiggling her own toes in the water, and the Bird was still bathing herself, so the Child stepped into the water and just stood. He stood for a little while, the weight of the moving water causing him to wobble, but with a little time, he started to splash the Bird back. So, Vena splashed them, they splashed each other, and they were all damp in no time, but the way the Child was laughing made Vena's wet clothes worth it. </p>
<p>Vena wasn't sure what time they had landed on Kiros, but as the sun started to set, she knew it was time to start to return to the ship until morning. She took off the Child's wet robe and laid it on a rock in the sun for it to dry. (She'd given the Mandalorian an earful about getting the Child more than one clothing item, but so far, he'd done nothing to fix it.) She bathed the Child, fed him, they played with the Bird some more, and even shared some of their dinner with. She wasn't exactly sure why the Kiros Bird remained near them for so long. Not that she or the Child minded too much. </p>
<p>As the sun started to completely disappear, Vena was forced to quickly build a fire on her own, although the Bird had helped to gather some fallen twigs and leaves from the landscape around them. Vena had no control over the Razor Crests ramp, nor how to enforce safety protocols, so she continued to sit outside and nearby the ship for the Mandalorian, growing slightly more worried every minute past the suns descent that he hadn't showed up. </p>
<p>Almost two hours into the night, the Child was asleep on Vena's lap, curled in her cloak, and the Bird was next to her, wings tucked in, tail curled in, neck almost non-existent as she, too, took a nap. When they heard heavy footsteps approaching the camp, both Vena and the Bird were at alert, but Vena relaxed, after her montral alerted to her that it was indeed just the Mandalorian. </p>
<p>Trying not to seem eager to see him, as he was approaching from behind her, she raised her hand up to greet him until he was in her sight, and she offered him a small smile. He nodded his head to her as he approached the fire. His helmet lingered on the watchful bird beside Vena. He said nothing for the moment and sat next to her, grabbing the extra bowl and portion packet she had left for him by the fire. He started to stir it. </p>
<p>"You're still able to hear me approaching okay, then?" he asked her casually. "Or, see, I suppose."</p>
<p>"Yes," she said. "It'll take some adjusting to rely on my right montral, but I can do it. I usually don't have to try very hard to see and hear, but now it's a bit overwhelming and requires some focus to pinpoint where you are. I felt you, though, too. The way you walk against the ground is different than others.”</p>
<p>He turned his helmet to her, intrigued. “How?”</p>
<p>Vena touched the Beskar on his shoulder lightly, chuckling as her nails made a quiet ding against the armor. "You're heavy."</p>
<p>The Mandalorian shook his head, a little amused. He nodded over at the Bird beside Vena. "You make a new friend?"</p>
<p>"It does seem that way," said Vena, glancing over at the Bird and smiling. With Vena's relaxed look, the Bird decided to return back to her sleep. Vena returned her gaze to the Mandalorian. "Jetpack training go alright?"</p>
<p>"Yes," he said. He paused, then admitted to her, "I haven't trained with one since I was a boy. It will just take a little while to get used to it again."</p>
<p>Vena's lips pursed. "So we are going to stay on Kiros for a while, then?" she wondered. When he didn't immediately reply, she continued, "I know we planned to, to see if anyone tried to come for the Child, but now we're staying until you feel confident in your training, too, right?" </p>
<p>"Yes," he said. "Is that a problem?"</p>
<p>"No," said Vena quickly, not wanting to make it a problem. She was curious, was all, for an estimate on their time on her home world. She couldn't tell yet if she was excited to stay and explore, or terrified. To further cover for herself, she continued to speak: "No. I just...I will have to figure out some ways to entertain the Kid and I, that's all. I'll have to try to remember what I did when I was a baby."</p>
<p>"If it helps, he's actually fifty," said the Mandalorian casually. </p>
<p>Vena laughed. When she continued to laugh and the Mandalorian remained still, her smile faded. She looked at the sleeping Child in her arms, all two feet of him, and then back to the Mandalorian, her eyes wide.</p>
<p>“No. Fifty? Him? Are you not kidding?"</p>
<p>"The tracking fob said fifty years old," the Mandalorian explained. "His species must age differently."</p>
<p>Vena looked down at the Child, her eyes still wide. "You really are older than me. Maker, you look good," she praised, briefly wondering what his secret to wrinkles was. She looked over at the Mandalorian. "And the fob had no name on it? No indicator of what to call him?"</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>Vena stopped herself before she inquired as to why the Mandalorian didn't give him a name himself. She remembered what he was like when she met him on Sorgan--scared, confused, unsure of himself when it came to caretaking. His fear was the whole reason she spoke to him. She figured he hadn't really thought much of a name because, like herself, he hadn't expected to find himself taking care of a child, let alone being with him for a longer time than a few weeks. She was sure their meeting was abrupt and sudden, too. But any potential reasonings Vena thought of as to why the Child wasn't named were combated with the very idea of the Mandalorian taking the Child in the first place. She was curious about his reasoning, or specific details to how they ended up together, but she would probably never ask. What she knew--that the Empire had the Child and the Mandalorian saved him and was protecting him--was enough to know what she needed to. Anything else she wanted to know was rather personal to the Mandalorian and she was sure he wouldn't divulge. </p>
<p>"Maybe I'll think of a name, then," she said casually, at the same time the Mandalorian started to say, "Once I finish the training, we can start looking." They both paused, slightly embarrassed, and busy deciphering the slurred messages in their own heads.</p>
<p>Vena thought it sweet that he turned so quickly into referencing them as a unit. Of course, she said nothing of it. Instead, she asked him what they were going to be looking for in particular. </p>
<p>"Other Mandalorian's. Maybe my old Tribe, if anyone’s left.”</p>
<p>"Oh, we're networking, then," she said. "Smart."</p>
<p>He nodded. He was continuing to stir his portions packet in its bowl, Vena noticed, even though it was ready to eat. She wanted to leave him, as she usually did so he could eat, but they had been engaged in a fluid conversation thus far, and he hadn't exactly made any cues for her to leave, or even asked to. Just as she was thinking to leave him be, he spoke up. </p>
<p>"Did you know any?"</p>
<p>"Mandalorian's? Yes," Vena clarified. Playfully, she added, "You're not my first."</p>
<p>He sighed, again, ignoring her. "Where?"</p>
<p>"Well, he's dead, now," she admitted to him. "Not exactly like we could speak beyond the grave, but, you know, maybe that's a good thing."</p>
<p>"He was your only one?" he asked her. "And he didn't wear his helmet?"</p>
<p>"Right," said Vena, leaving a definitive answer in the air. "He'd spoken about Mandalorian's, because I had never met one. Told me some of the history he lived through on Mandalore, some of the battles he'd fought in. He just liked to talk about what a fantastic fighter he was, really, but when he wasn't talking about himself, I was genuinely interested."</p>
<p>"So that's where you learned what you know about my people," he understood.</p>
<p>Vena nodded. "Might be a biased account, but so far, you are living up to what he said you're all like," she laughed. "Scary, good fighters, resourceful. Didn't say you were nice, though. I think that's just you."</p>
<p>She felt the rush of embarrassment rush over his body and she smiled, taking the chance in his silence to stand and cuddle the Child in her arms. She told him she was going to head to sleep in the Razor Crest and let him eat. He told her she could take his bed for the night, and when she argued, he insisted, until she agreed. She asked jokingly if the Bird could sleep with her and the Child, to which he said a very unamused no to, so she bid the Bird goodnight, the Mandalorian goodnight, and took his bed for her and the Child. </p>
<p>As Vena drifted off to sleep, she thought about how hard it was going to be to not care about him or the Child. She knew only hours later after she'd made the decision to stay unattached that she would break her own self-appointed rule, solely because of how deeply she was realizing she wanted to be apart of a family, even if they weren't blood. </p>
<p>•</p>
<p>Before either of them truly realized how fast time had passed, it turned out they had spent a total of four months on Kiros. Accidentally, really. The Mandalorian really did need time to figure out the situation at hand, and to see if the tracker was still active on the Child, and he did want to master the jet pack, but he certainly hadn’t needed more than a month to do so. They could have left two weeks into their stay, but, honestly, the topic of leaving hadn’t been mentioned by either Vena or the Mandalorian since their first night, so it simply did not happen. <br/><br/></p>
<p>They weren’t complaining, however. Kiros was quiet. It was a decent climate, they landed in a great sector of the planet. It took no time at all for them to establish a routine, to find how Vena fit into the ship and into their lives, or for both of them to realize on their own that they just simply liked each other’s company—that’s why the topic of leaving never came up. </p>
<p>The Mandalorian had fashioned a cot in the corner where his own bed was. It fit perfectly in the small corner between where the door to his bed lifted, placed beside it, and he was only able to see her feet when she slept there, which gave her some privacy. Although, as much as he could, he tried to convince her to sleep in his bed, as it was much more comfortable, and the Child often fell asleep in her arms more than his own. When he did sleep in his own bed, he had learned to keep the door open, as there had been one too many nights the Child had fallen asleep with the Mandalorian, then cried until he woke up and opened the door for him to switch to sleep with Vena, or vice-versa. The Child could barely make up his mind on who he wanted to sleep with. </p>
<p>Unintentionally, they had fashioned the Child onto a schedule. Eat with Vena, play with her while Mando ate, go explore with Vena while Mando ventured off to practice with his jetpack, reunite to search for food together, then sit by the fire and talk about their days, the mere hours they spent apart. Vena always had a story to tell about what her and the Child got up to that day, while Mando’s explanation about his training with the jetpack was always: “It went well.”</p>
<p>Despite doing a fire every night, and practically around the same time every night, no other inhabitant of Kiros ventured upon their camp. It wasn’t as if people were spying and they hadn’t noticed, either, Vena was always on the lookout with her montral for movement. She hadn’t sensed anything other than critters, or their Bird, who she had affectionately named Kirry, although Mando still called her the Bird. The lack of Togrtua’s in their area, even with the five klick radius they’d both walked in total around their camp, was alarming. She wondered if the Kiros population even did return, with how quiet and isolated they were while they were there. <br/><br/></p>
<p>Kirry was their only new addition. The Mandalorian clearly did not like her, as he stated multiple times he was not one for critters, or, as Vena corrected: pets. Kirry seemed to notice he did not like her and would consistently try to land on his shoulder and rub her head against his helmet. Every time, without fail, Mando would shoo her away. He never got to a point where he didn’t mind her on his shoulder, but he would leave his extra food for her to eat, which told Vena he definitely did not despise Kirry as much as he seemed to. </p>
<p>In a few weeks time, Kirry was no longer coming to visit them at night. The Mandalorian told the saddened pair of Vena and the Child that it was probably something to do with migration or maybe the Bird had found her family after being lost--he shot out many hopeful suggestions to why the Bird hadn't returned to them. At first, he had been glad to not be bothered with the extra mouth, but after seeing how sad Vena and the Child were, when he would leave them to practice with his jetpack, he did look for the Bird and call her name out, hopeful. Despite his attempts, the Bird did not return to them. </p>
<p>Vena spent their few hours apart every day to practice with her powers. When he was out of her vicinity, she was free to let loose with the Child, and together, they would lift pebbles on the ground, or the small rocks underneath the surface of the water. She was entranced by how effortlessly the Child seemed to lift physically, but she often told him when to stop, before he became so tired he slept for the entire day, or worse, the Mandalorian noticed how tired he was. She watched the Child for pointers, as he couldn’t give much advice on it, and in return, they meditated everyday, working on easing him into a calming state within a few simple minutes and with only a few breaths.</p>
<p>When she tried, she sensed his fear quite clearly. She knew it was from the Empire, without question, and although she tried to convey back to him that he was safe with she and the Mandalorian, she also understood it was normal to live with fear as a child and worse, as a child wanted by the Empire. All she could offer besides her protection was a space to clear his mind and escape from whatever memories or fears he held in his mind. <br/><br/></p>
<p>Sometimes when the Child did meditate or was napping, Vena practiced more with controlling her own body. She worked on using the combination of her naturally athletic jumping skills and her power to climb the trees quickly, jump long distances, shoot herself into the air with only a push of her hand down towards the ground, and catching herself before she could land too hard on the ground. <br/><br/></p>
<p>Four months time was a long time. With the Mandalorian practicing with his jetpack, with Vena teaching the Child to meditate, with the Child teaching Vena how to move the energy surrounding them, all three of them were going to leave Kiros with more knowledge and ability than they had landed on Kiros with. But the Mandalorian wouldn’t have known that. He had pretty much no idea what Vena and the Child were up to during the day, besides what ever slight lie Vena told him they were up to. Clearly, he trusted her enough to keep the Child busy and the two of them safe, so he didn’t usually ask too many questions of them. </p>
<p>Until, one day, he noticed a bug stuck on the back of the Child’s cloak, and he couldn’t hide his disgust from it.</p>
<p>He had pointed it out, but it was Vena who reached down and plucked the bug from his cloak, allowing it to crawl around in her hand as she observed it. The Mandalorian was suspicious of why she was inspecting the bug so closely, but then she gasped, grabbed his hand, swept the Child into her arm, and started to run, dragging both of them along unexpectedly. <br/><br/></p>
<p>“Hala, what, what?” he tried to say, the entire way she was dragging him through the tall trees and the vines, but she ignored him.</p>
<p>At long last, they entered a small clearing, with a top layer of growing leaves covering it, yet still covered by the massive leaves of the jungle above. It was not dirt, like the rest of the trails they’d walked was. <br/><br/>Vena told them both to be quiet and gestured for them to sit. They sat in a circle, all of them on their knees, both the Child and the Mandalorian keeping their eyes on Vena’s excited face. She was staring at the ground instead of either of them, waiting. </p>
<p>The Mandalorian was skeptical beyond belief as they waited for several minutes in pure silence and completely still. He was shocked, genuinely, to see the Child actually listened to her. He did not do the same for Mando. <br/><br/>As he started to grow tired of the silence, he wanted to speak, but a light caught his eye. In the ground between the three of them, a small, blinking light started to rise from the short grass. <br/><br/></p>
<p>Vena moved slowly and carefully and held her hand out over the circle they were sitting in. A tiny bug, a tiny flashing bug, identical to the one on the Child’s coat, drifted up from the grass and bumped into her hand. It flickered in short beats, lighting entirely green, before dimming entirely, and so on. <br/><br/></p>
<p>Vena looked down to the ground again as she started to notice more flashing lights, she whispered for both the boys to hold their hands out too, and the Child did instantly, wiggling his fingers in excitement. The Mandalorian was so mesmerized by the twinkling smile in Vena’s eyes and on her face that he hadn’t heard her request, until she landed her eyes on him, and lifted his gloved hand from his lap. He moved his helmet away from her. <br/><br/></p>
<p>Soon, dozens of the light bugs raised from within the grass and were raising slowly around the three of them. They seemed to have no control over their direction, only that they flew upwards. They would bump into the hands of Vena, the Mandalorian, and the Child, then continuously bump along their hands until a gap was found and they could keep rising upwards.</p>
<p>The Child was so fascinated by the one on his hand that he pushed himself from the ground and started to crawl onto the Mandalorian, his knees, up his chest, to his shoulders, causing Vena to giggle relentlessly, and the Mandalorian to put the Child on his shoulders, standing, giving him one more chance to catch the bug as it flew upwards. </p>
<p>Vena watched the pair, her hand falling back down to her lap, entranced by the simplicity in the Mandalorian’s movements. Her heart fluttered at the sight of him trying to give the Child another chance. He had come so far in the caretaking aspect since she met him on Sorgan; he showed it in such a mundane task.</p>
<p>When the bugs were gone, the Child cried a little, but a kiss attack from Vena all over his face turned his tears into laughter, then they started to return back to their camp.</p>
<p>“Sorry for running, I just had this total flashback to me being a kid and going to those open fields to see those bugs,” she apologized.</p>
<p>The Mandalorian shrugged. “No need to apologize. That was different,” he admitted to her. “I haven’t seen something like that before.”</p>
<p>“Well, Kiros is a new planet for you. You met Kirry, saw some bugs. Ate some of the local food. Uhh... I think that’s it, actually,” she laughed.</p>
<p>”You’re very good with animals,” he complimented, after smiling at her laughter. He hoped he sounded sincere to her. His voice was soft, natural. As natural as it could be through the modulator. "Or things, in general. The Child, the Bird. Were you always like that?" </p>
<p>Vena hummed, thinking. "I think so. I feel like I've always just been someone that people flock to for advice or care. Maybe I have a certain aura about me that attracts people who need some comfort," she said truthfully. "It comes natural to me; I've never wanted kids, or pets, despite being good with them. But what is your instinct? What are you natural at?" </p>
<p>She half expected him to say that fighting was his instinct, or weapons, but he said nothing to do with his culture. Instead, he was honest with her, and told her that he didn't know. It wasn't one of those off-handed responses, where he did know and simply didn't want to tell her, but he was being honest. He didn't know what he was a natural at. Many of the activities he was good at were learned, obsessively practiced and perfected. He wasn't sure if he was a natural at anything. </p>
<p>Vena noticed his silence, assumed he was spiraling deep into his own thoughts, and spoke softly to break through his thoughts. "Well, if anything, I think you've come so far with the Baby, Mando," she said honestly. "You're so good with him. Quick learner."</p>
<p>"Good teacher," he said, and Vena couldn't hide the slight widening of her eyes at his comment. She ducked her head from him to hide her smile, his palms started to sweat with slight embarrassment. He had spent many of the days on Kiros trying to gain the courage to compliment Vena, overthought it so much, that when he actually did, it was an accident, a slip of his tongue. He meant it. He just thought he would have planned it out a little better when he did. </p>
<p>"Thank you," she mumbled shyly. </p>
<p>The Mandalorian and Vena returned to the campsite. The sun was almost gone by the time they had their fire started. Together, the three of them ate the collection of edible leaves and berries, along with the portion packets of bread the Mandalorian seemed to have an endless supply of. When they were finished eating, the Child decided to sit on the Mandalorian's lap, which only lasted for a few minutes, before the Child was fast asleep in his arms. </p>
<p>"I think I'm going to go for a swim tonight, when he's gone to bed," proposed Vena, her eyes in a trance at the base of the waterfall. When he didn't respond for a few beats, she turned to him, noticing the wave of fear hitting him. She didn't tell him she noticed it, but it made her wonder what her statement caused him to worry for. "Mando?" </p>
<p>"Can you swim?" he asked cautiously. He didn't wait for her to respond. "On Sorgan, you said one of your potential causes of death would be drowning. You said you can't swim."</p>
<p>Vena raised her brow. She barely remembered she'd said that, herself. "Uh, right," she agreed. "No, I can float. I'm not a fantastic swimmer, but I wouldn't drown. I just... I don't know. I want to take a swim, I guess. I'll be alright." </p>
<p>"Are you lying?" </p>
<p>Vena inhaled a fake, dramatic gasp, her hand on her heart. But, she broke rather quickly, amused that he had said such a thing to her. "Mando, you stealing my line?" </p>
<p>His helmet stared blankly at her, which was often a sign that he was going to let the helmet answer for him so he didn't have to speak. Vena had gotten that signal from him many times before. Used to it, she laughed it off, then pushed herself to her feet. She started to gather their mess around the fire and clean up the area. </p>
<p>He raised his helmet to her. “You know my name, don't you?"</p>
<p>Vena paused, raising her brow as she glanced over at him. She considered lying and pretending as if she could forget his name, as if she hadn't thought about what Din Djarin looked like or if he looked like a Din Djarin every other day. "Yes, I do. Why?" </p>
<p>"Why don't you call me by it?" he wondered. </p>
<p>Vena stopped her work. She stood taller, placing her hands on her hips, her face scrunched in thought as she pondered his question. "I...That's kind of rude, don't you think? You didn't tell me your name, it was thrown out into the open without your permission, so I just never thought to refer to you as it. And you never introduced yourself as it. And I didn't even know if it was okay to know your name, much less use it."</p>
<p>He nodded, satisfied by the explanation of her answer. He'd wanted to ask her for a few weeks, why she continued to call him Mando, but he understood why she refrained from it. How polite, he thought, that she had thought more about what knowing or using his name meant for his Creed rather than simply using his name, now that she knew it. If he was being honest, he didn't mind that Vena, Cara, or Greef Karga knew his name. If there was anybody in the galaxy he trusted to know his name and continue to call him Mando, it was the three of them. Karga might be a character, but he never pushed him for a name or personal information, nor had Cara or Vena, really. Not enough to bother him, at least. </p>
<p>"Do you mind it when I call you by your name?" he asked. </p>
<p>"I don't," she said without any thought.</p>
<p>She realized how quickly she admitted that to him, then she turned away from him, continuing to clean up the camp. She brought their garbage back onto the ship. She returned for their dirtied bowls, but when she started down the ramp, the Mandalorian had brought their bowls, carrying them in one hand, while the Baby was still asleep in his other arm. She took the bowls from him, smiling down at the Child in his arms, and she pressed a kiss to his wrinkled little forehead. </p>
<p>"Night, baby," she whispered. </p>
<p>The Mandalorian kept the Child in his arm. He extended the other, his gloved hand outward, reaching across the short distance between he and Vena. Vena lowered her eyes suspiciously to his outstretched hand, then her eyes flickered back up to his visor. "Din Djarin," he said. </p>
<p>Vena hummed as she understood what he was doing. She slipped her hand into his. "Vena," she said. She paused. "Hala Havena. But only for you."</p>
<p>She could hear the smile in his voice. "Noted.” </p>
<p>Vena noticed their hands were lingering together and she glanced down at their conjoined hands, knowing he saw her do so, and they both pulled away from each other. She affectionately reached for the Child's ear, squeezing it between her thumb and forefinger, before she told him she was going to put out the fire and go for her swim. He advised her yet again to be careful, but he said nothing else, although they both knew he wanted to, by the way his visor lingered on her. She turned and left the Razor Crest. </p>
<p>Vena scooped some water from the river into a bucket and tossed it on the fire. She stomped on the fire lazily, not having to do much to settle it. When it started to smoke, Vena glanced back in the direction of the Razor Crest, ensuring the Mandalorian was deep into the ship, then she started to pull off her clothes. Left in her undergarments, a tight pair of shorts and a bra, Vena hopped along the dirt and to the base of the waterfall. She dipped her toe into the dark pond, the cold water soothing how humid and muggy the planet was. She thought briefly about diving in, but remembered the Mandalorian's words, to be careful, and instead, she sat on the edge of the pond, then slid in, her hands gripping the edge of the pond tightly until she could wiggle her feet to keep her afloat. From there, the rest was history. </p>
<p>Her montral was so confused while she was under the water. She had swam just underneath the surface, completely submerged, mesmorized by the absolute darkness and deafness relayed to her while she was under the water. Then, she tilted back and floated on her back, listening to herself breath, the waterfall crash nearby her, and she just floated, learning how to see and still hear with her montral while swimming. </p>
<p>There was a beautiful shimmer shooting through the trees and reflecting across the water. With the fire gone, the only light in their campsite was from the lowered ramp of the Razor Crest, and the sections the moonlight could reach. It was peaceful, almost more peaceful than Kiros in the daylight, but all the same, Vena found herself with her mind blank, her senses as attuned as they could be, and her heart at peace. </p>
<p>No sooner than she had started to relax and trust herself to swim, a quick set of footsteps came rushing to the pond. Vena hadn't noticed the Mandalorian's footsteps, because her montral was much more delayed while submerged under the water, she didn't notice until he was essentially at the foot of the pond, had clearly noticed her practically naked and floating, and had turned quickly not to face her directly. Vena was startled by him and dropped quickly from floating, sinking abruptly under the water, until she remembered to kick her feet and submerged, slapping her hands over her eyes to clear the water. </p>
<p>"I'm sorry, I'm sorry--" he was saying. He was turned sideways, his helmet away from her for privacy. "I forgot you said you were going to swim. I didn't see you out here, I just thought--"</p>
<p>"You're fine," breathed Vena.</p>
<p>She launched herself to the edge of the pond, hiking her elbows on it, saving herself from having to kick her feet to stay afloat. She managed to cover her chest as well as she could. She didn't mind too much for him to see her in such scantily clad clothing, as she remembered a time where she practically existed day-to-day with no clothing on and didn't mind people seeing her body. But she hid her chest, because he was clearly uncomfortable by her lack of clothing. She found herself impressed by his self control to avoid looking, before she reminded herself that any decent person would give her privacy, and she drew the thought from her head. </p>
<p>"What do you need?" she asked, because he hadn't spoken. </p>
<p>"No, it's fine, sorry," he said, after a second thought, and he started to turn away.</p>
<p>"Din," she pressed. </p>
<p>He stopped. She wasn't sure if he stopped because that was the first time she had spoken his name, or because he was still uncomfortable by the situation. He turned back to face her, his helmet raised and clearly out of eyesight to even look at her. His hands rested on his hips, one of his hips jutted out, and he lamely explained to her that he only wanted to ask her some tips on how to put the Child to sleep in one of their beds. It seemed mundane, now, to ask, and since he left the Child alone on Vena's cot, he suddenly thought that the Kid was probably already asleep, which was exactly what Vena told him, moments later. </p>
<p>"He'll get bored and stop fighting the sleep," she told him. "You just have to be patient."</p>
<p>"Okay," he said. "Sorry, again."</p>
<p>Vena rested her chin on top of her forearms. Her feet kicked lazily in the water underneath her. She watched him turn away once more, trying to leave, but she called his name again, stopping him in his place. She wasn't sure what exactly convinced her to choose the moment at hand to ask him what she was going to. Maybe she didn't want to wait longer than she already had, or because she believed if she didn't say something, they would never have the conversation, or maybe the moonlight put her in a trance, but she spoke before she could think about it any longer and convince herself to stay silent on the matter. </p>
<p>"Back on Nevarro," she called after him, intriguing him enough to turn his helmet back to her. This time, he didn't bother avoiding her eye. His visor met her eyes. "When we thought you were going to die and we were going to leave you--I was going to leave you..."</p>
<p>"Yes?" he whispered. </p>
<p>"You...uh..." She lowered her eyes from his piercing gaze briefly. "You touched my lekku."</p>
<p>He shifted uncomfortably. He was unsure how to read into her body language or her casual tone of voice. Slowly, he said, "I'm...sorry."</p>
<p>"No," she denied, shaking her head. "No, no need for apologies. I don't need them, if you intended it. If you intended to do that."</p>
<p>"I did," he said, sounding braver with every moment that passed. </p>
<p>Vena couldn't help the grin on her lips. He was not turned to her, both of them growing shy after their confessions, and she ducked her mouth behind her arms, hiding how big the smile on her lips was. However, as much as she wanted to rejoice in the bliss and confirmation that he intentionally touched her lekku as a sign of admiration or maybe even affection, reality set in too quickly for her. They were enemies, a voice in her head whispered. He liked her, she couldn't help herself from liking him, too, but she knew he would never choose her over his Creed. And so, her smile faded. Vena said nothing else. She couldn't. She had to suppress her joy over his clear expression of admiration for her because nothing else could happen.</p>
<p><span class="Apple-converted-space">He spoke. "I</span>s that...okay?" </p>
<p>Vena nodded, then remembered he wasn't looking at her. "Yeah," she whispered back, despite her best intentions, and the warnings and realizations in her head. "It's okay."</p>
<p>"You... you did something, too, on Nevarro," he said awkwardly. "You put your forehead on my helmet. That's, uh, a keldabe. A kiss. Of sorts."</p>
<p>"Oh," said Vena, her body flushing with warm, embarrassed. "I'm... sorry. Sorry."</p>
<p>"No, it's okay," he said. </p>
<p>"Alright."</p>
<p>"Okay."</p>
<p>Then, he turned and returned to the Razor Crest. Vena pushed off of the edge of the pond and let herself sink under the water, trying to cool down how hot her body had gotten during their whole interaction. That was a mess, she thought, so embarrassingly. A literal mess. When had she ever been so awkward in her life? Ugh. If young adult Vena could have seen herself, she would have slapped her silly for allowing a man to make lose her cool. Current-age Vena wanted to slap herself anyway for ignoring every single red flag her brain had thrown up, for telling him that it was okay for him to have made that advance. They thought he was dying and never to be seen again, granted, but either way, Vena and Din essentially admitted they had committed acts of affection towards one another and agreed that both were accepted and okay. </p>
<p>"Why am I the way that I am?" she asked, to no one in particular, frustrated with herself.</p>
<p>When the universe didn't answer her, she decided she was going to be finished swimming for the night before the water made her do some more crazy things. It was the water, she defended. It probably has love potion powers. Or something. </p>
<p>Vena dried herself off and returned to the ship. She was still pulling her cloak over her shoulders when she entered up the ramp, lightly pressing the console by the bay door to close it behind her, when she noticed the Child spread across her cot, directly in the center, leaving no room for her to sleep with him. She stared at his sleeping body, her hands on her hips, begrudginly wondering if she liked the Kid enough to sleep on the floor for the night.</p>
<p>She didn't have to think much into it. The Mandalorian climbed down from the cockpit, apologizing for the Child choosing Vena's cot over his bed, and he offered his bed for her to sleep in for the night. That was standard, he usually offered and insisted, but this time, he was offering it to her singularly. She stupidly asked where he was going to sleep and he told her he would sit on the edge and she stupidly agreed, yet again ignoring the caution signal in her brain. </p>
<p>So, Vena crawled into the small cove that was his bed. She curled her legs in as far and as comfortable as she could get, pulling one of his blankets up and over her waist. She watched him kick off his boots and sit on the edge of the bed, his back against the wall, his legs crossed at his ankles and touching the other side of the wall. She was blocked from leaving his bed, ultimately, which made her partially claustrophobic, but she ignored it for the time being. She looked over to the pillow beside her and saw another blanket bunched into the corner. She grabbed it and loosened it, throwing it across his lap. His helmet turned to her curiously. </p>
<p>"In case you get cold," she muttered. </p>
<p>Vena said nothing more to him. She fell over on her side, snuggling into his pillow and his blanket, the feeling of claustrophobia escaping her with every inhale she took, and instead being replaced by a sense of security, having him at the end of the bed. </p>
<p>•</p>
<p>When Vena blinked her eyes awake the next morning, she found she was not alone in the bed. Sometime during the night, the Child ditched her cot and must have crawled across the Mandalorian to snuggle with her. She awoke to the unconscious twitching of his big ears tickling underneath her chin. Vena lifted her head from the pillow and noticed the Mandalorian in virtually the same position, only his helmet was tilted down at his chest, and his arms were crossed. </p>
<p>She extended her foot underneath the blanket and nudged his thigh. He lifted his helmet to her. </p>
<p>"Morning," he said groggily, his voice deep. </p>
<p>It took everything in Vena not to be attracted to his morning voice. Four months in and she had never heard him speak in such a tired tone. They usually had time to pull themselves together before they greeted each other for the day. She would have been lying if she said she didn't want to hear more of his voice. </p>
<p>"Uh, hi," she said, realizing she hadn't spoken. "You sleep okay?"</p>
<p>"Yes. You?"</p>
<p>"This is a nice bed."</p>
<p>He paused. He read too much into her comment and asked her if she wanted to switch beds, to which she laughed, and denied. She wiggled out from underneath the grasp of the Child, pushing herself to sit against the only remaining wall in his cove of a bed. She inhaled a sigh, closing her eyes as she exhaled. He watched her brow furrow with a thought and then her eyes fly open, her head tilting curiously to the side. </p>
<p>"Din," she muttered, gaining his attention. "I think it's time we leave Kiros."</p>
<p>He remembered what she had said about that feeling she experienced when she felt it was time for her to move on. He found it strange, as he had never had any sort of connection to the universe or even just life, like Vena seemed to have. Being on Kiros with her for four months and being allowed to see her interact with the earth, the life on Kiros, it helped him to understand more about her species and her culture. There must be a natural connection to the universe for Togruta's, he deduced, and he trusted in her feelings and in her words. </p>
<p>"Alright," he said. </p>
<p>Vena turned quickly to him, surprised by how easily he agreed. "Uh. Is that okay?" she asked. "Are you done with your training? Do we have somewhere to go? A direction to go in?" </p>
<p>The Mandalorian found it strange she asked those questions, when they had spoken about the plan on their first night. Surely she had to remember. He thought briefly that she might not truly want to leave Kiros, although she suggested it, but he dropped that idea quickly. Vena hadn't been anything but to the point with him, so far. If she had something to say, he trusted her to say it. </p>
<p>"Yes," he said shortly. "We can leave now." </p>
<p>Vena continued to watch him curiously. </p>
<p>"Do you not want to leave?" he asked, confused. </p>
<p>"Do you want to leave?" she asked in return. </p>
<p>The Mandalorian squinted at her. "I trust in your feeling," he said slowly. "If you believe it's time we move on, I trust you."</p>
<p>He couldn't exactly be honest with her and tell her he would have stayed on Kiros for longer, if she hadn't said something. He was barely being honest with himself about choosing the path in front of him, which he had thought a lot about while on Kiros. There were multiple paths ahead of him: find the Kid's home, deliver him, be alone with Vena. Maybe go back to bounty hunting. Or stay with her and the Kid, don't find his family, stay with both of them. His wants were, for once, difference than his needs and what was necessary of him by Creed. In the end, and at the end of every thought he had about what path to take, he couldn't choose them. He had to choose his Creed. He told himself when Vena asked about when they were going to leave Kiros, which he knew she would, eventually, that he would start down the path he had to take. And now, she had. </p>
<p>When the Child started to make quiet noises, waking up, due to their conversation, the Mandalorian took the chance to throw his feet over the edge of the bed, slipping his feet back into his boots. He stood and turned back to the sight of Vena in his bed, her lips puffy from sleep, her eyes still drooping and not yet awake. And the Child, waking up slowly, his hands patting and reaching for her. </p>
<p>"I'll set us on a course," he told her. He was going to offer her the chance to continue sleeping. Before he could, she tucked the Child back into the blanket they were sleeping with, climbed from the bed, then followed closely behind him as he climbed up to the cockpit. </p>
<p>Vena sat down but did not buckle herself in as he readied the ship for take off. In the reflection of the dashboard, he could see her head moving from side to side, the length of the windshield, observing the view from the cockpit. As he lifted the Razor Crest into the air, he flew slowly across the tree tops, glancing down at her reflection to watch the sad, small smile on her lips. She was saying goodbye. He could tell from not only the somber look on her face but the way she was holding herself for comfort. </p>
<p>"You ready?" he asked her quietly. </p>
<p>Vena's eyes fell to the back of his head. She smiled at him, too, for having understood the mental path she was going through in saying goodbye to her home planet. She didn't think it would be hard, to say goodbye to a planet she barely remembered. But she'd returned, explored some of it, made new memories. Leaving wasn't so bad, now. She was leaving on her own terms, not at all alone, and there were memories she would remember from now on that were happy. </p>
<p>"I'm ready," she whispered back to him. </p>
<p>The Mandalorian tilted the nose of the Razor Crest into the sky, shooting into the dark atmosphere of space, then his hand pressed the lever forward, and Vena watched her vision become clouded with the millions of blue lines that meant nothing else but a jump into hyperspace. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Caretakers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Razor Crest was cruising through hyperspace, on to another planet, where the Mandalorian said he needed to talk to someone about someone who knew where a Mandalorian might be. It was all very relative and quite hard to find Mandalorian’s, as they had seemingly all operated underground since Mandalore had been overthrown by the Empire. Or so Vena gathered. She didn’t ask for much detail on the subject, because of how important secrecy was to their people and their survival.</p><p>The trip through hyperspace took a few days. In that time, the Mandalorian noticed that the Razor Crest was rarely silent, except when all three of them were sleeping. Vena and the Child talked a lot, she talked a lot, to the Child. He was endeared by the way she spoke to him, actually; she spoke to him the same way she did to everyone else they’d been in contact with. She didn’t talk down to him, or use a higher pitched voice. She spoke to him genuinely and softly, asked him questions and waited patiently for responses, talked to him about their day, included him in her conversations with the Mandalorian. He found it humorous when the Child would babble a response and she would agree with him or compliment his intelligence.</p><p>He liked watching her write in her journal, he decided. He noticed it when they were sitting at the table in the hangar bay together, he was cleaning some of his weapons, and Vena sat across from him with the Child on her lap. She was drawing and writing in her journal. She had given the Kid a piece of paper and a writing utensil, too, so they were both occupied. She worked for a few hours. When she’d finished, and the crinkle of concentration in her brow was gone, and her bottom limp was properly swollen and plump from how hard she’d sucked on it while trying to draw, she tilted the journal up and got the Child’s attention.</p><p>”Kiros,” she read to him. “My homeworld. Humid, damp, jungle, lots of coverage, waterfalls, valleys. Kiros Bird, Lightbugs. Berries, greens.”</p><p>The Child spoke animatedly. </p><p>Vena hummed thoughtfully. “Oh yes, you’re right, I forgot to add Kirry’s name. Thanks.”</p><p>Mando tilted his helmet up. He almost didn’t want to ask, in case maybe she forgot he was there, but he convinced himself that she wouldn’t have spoke to the Child if she didn’t intend on him hearing her, too.</p><p>“You keep track of the planets you visit?”</p><p>“Yes,” she said.</p><p>Only her montrals were peaking up over the journal, from how short the chair was to the table they sat at. She sat up straighter and met his eye.</p><p>“Someone once told me to try journaling to help remember my life. Even if it is a little boring. I just don’t want to forget all the places I’ve been. People I’ve met.”</p><p>It slipped out before he could think about it. “Am I in there?”</p><p>Vena giggled and rolled her eyes. “Maybe,” she said, closing the journal and setting it on the table. </p><p>The Baby started to speak. He waved his little hand, gesturing for her to come down. She lowered her right montral to him. He babbled to her montral, loud enough for the Mandalorian to hear, though he couldn’t understand. He thought Vena couldn’t understand the Child either, until she genuinely laughed, and he was forced to rethink if she could understand him. </p><p>“What?” he asked her. “Can you understand him?”</p><p>“I think I’m getting the hang of it,” she said, but he had no idea if she was being serious. She looked at the Kid sheepishly. “He is making guesses at what I should put for what you look like under the helmet.”</p><p>The Mandalorian narrowed his eyes at the bashful Child. “And?”</p><p>"Well, I think you’re human," she admitted. She held a finger up to the Mandalorian as the Child tugged on her lekku, then listened to him babble, then nodded. "But he's betting on Rodian.”</p><p>The Mandalorian sighed. Both of them together was entertainment by itself, really, with how closely they had bonded. The Child loved her, it was so evident. And the Mandalorian knew Vena could genuinely understand the Kid in a way he could not: through his feelings. But sometimes watching them interact and understand each other made him feel incompetent as the Child’s other caretaker, if he was being honest. <br/><br/>Vena must have been able to sense his feelings. Often, when he started to watch them and feel that way, she would pass the Child off to him and find something to do by herself. The Mandalorian had to wonder if she intentionally recognized his feelings or if it was instinct she was reacting to. She had vowed to try to ignore his feelings, as a privacy precaution, but he was sure there were some feelings so strong and so suddenly felt that if he didn’t try to control it, she felt immediately. At that rate, he was surprised she hadn’t felt how much he liked having her company. Or maybe she had and simply said nothing. </p><p>Vena handed the Child to him as she stood. She grabbed her journal and walked back to her cot, where her bag was shoved underneath, then placed the journal on top. She stretched her arms out with a yawn.</p><p>“You know, this whole traveling thing really makes your sleep schedule kind of strange,” she noted. She sat down on the cot. “My internal clock is all wonky.”</p><p>“Sleep when you can, is my advice,” said the Mandalorian. He slipped the Child into the crook of his arm and stood. “I’ll head up to the cockpit with him. You sleep.”</p><p>Vena smiled at him thankfully. “Wake me up when we’re there, okay?”</p><p>He nodded, then raised his arm up, pressing his gloved fingers lightly against the panel on his arm and he dimmed the lights in the bay. He climbed up the ladder and to the cockpit, setting the Child on the chair he often shared with Vena. He turned back to the view of hyperspace in front of him, watching it peacefully float by for a minute, his mind thinking back to the smile that always lit up Vena’s eyes when they entered into hyperspace.</p><p>•<br/><br/></p><p>”Hala,” a voice was whispering. She could feel a hand on her upper arm. “I’m sorry, but you gotta wake up for a minute.”</p><p>Vena opened one eye. She saw the Mandalorian leaning over her, his figure forming in her vision. She pushed herself up, her montrals no longer sinking into the pillow, and ran her hands down her face, trying to wake up.</p><p>“You don’t have to get up,” he said, still whispering. “I just wanted to let you know we landed and I’m going to go find some people. But you stay here, I’ll leave the Kid with you, you both get some rest. Okay?”</p><p>Vena yawned. “Are you sure you want to go alone?” she offered.</p><p>He smiled fondly at her. Her eyes were barely open and she was still offering to keep him company. He rested his hand on her arm again.</p><p>”Yes. I’ll be alright,” he said. He lightly pushed her back down onto her cot, set the Child against her, then pulled the blanket up over her waist. “Sleep. Both of you. I’ll be back soon.”</p><p>”Be safe,” Vena muttered after him.</p><p>The Mandalorian lowered the side ramp of the Razor Crest, hurrying out as to allow as little daylight as possible into the ship, then engaged the security protocols before he stepped away from the ship, off to the nearest town to find information about other Mandalorian’s.</p><p>•</p><p>Vena’s next wake up was not as kind as the Mandalorian’s. She woke to a number of hands grabbing her, one around her throat, one on her arm, another pair of hands around her ankles. She gasped for air immediately upon being woken up. She was blinded by how dark it was in the Crest, except for a streak of daylight the sun was beaming in from a crack of the side ramp.</p><p>Vena threw her free arm up and over her head, her nails digging into a face, causing them to drop the hold on her arm and her neck. She hit the floor with her forearms, then wiggled a foot from the other person’s grasp and kicked as hard as she could repeatedly until they let go.</p><p>“Kid!” she screamed into the dark.</p><p>She heard his scared cry call out to her.</p><p>Vena took a step in the direction she thought she heard him—she really didn’t know with her montral’s broken ability. She knew she wouldn’t have time to get a grip on reality and focus, and it was true, since she tried to run for the Child and she ran straight into an outstretched arm, flinging her back down to the floor. Arms stretched around her neck and her head moments later, picking her up from the floor. </p><p>Vena gasped for air, diffing her fingers into the man’s arm. She lifted her foot and stomped on the foot of the man who held her in a chokehold. She forgot she was wearing no shoes. Instead, she dug her heels into the ground, slipping and sliding backwards. </p><p>Vena backed herself and the man into a wall. The weapons wall, she could tell, from the noise it made when they bumped into it. When the person released their grip briefly, aiming to readjust, Vena sprung out of the hold and dropped to her knees, her hands flying along the floor. She grabbed the first weapon that she found from the fallen bunch, a knife, gripped it tightly and stabbed into the leg, then moved it up, stabbing a torso, a chest, until the person fell.</p><p>Vena dropped the knife and grabbed a blaster from the wall. She undid the safety and held it up, she felt the vibrations of an approaching body coming towards her and she fired. The short distance the blast had to go illuminated the dark hangar. There were six men, the two dead included, she saw briefly, and one was holding the Child in front of him.</p><p>She paused as she saw the man holding the Child. He noticed her falter and stepped into the light peaking in from the ramp, illuminating himself, shouting at her to stop, to drop the weapon. But he didn’t have a weapon himself, and therefore, no real threat to the Child.</p><p>Vena threw her free hand out and grasped the Child, yanking him back to her. She grabbed him from the air and set him down behind her, then she put her finger on the trigger and fired relentlessly. She kept firing and moving the blaster from side to side, hearing the. screams, the pained groans, the thumping of bodies hitting the floor.</p><p>“Stop! Hala, stop! It’s me, it’s me!” She heard.</p><p>Vena dropped the blaster as the lights in the hangar bay turned on, startling her. The Mandalorian was directly in front of her. He lowered his arm from where it was bent to cover his head from her blaster fire and she shook her head, her mouth wide open, her eyes horrified. Seeing him, in the light, knowing she was safe, Vena dropped down to her knees on the ground, finally able to realize that she hadn’t taken a breath almost the entire time.</p><p>The Mandalorian slid to his knees in front of her, wrapping his arms around her, grabbing the Child, too, and he held them. </p><p>“Hala, you’re okay, you’re okay,” he whispered to her as she trembled silently in his arms, clutching him, gasping for breath. “You’re okay. Everyone’s alright.”</p><p>“I’m-so-“ she tried to heave in air. “Sorry!”</p><p>The Mandalorian shook his head. He didn’t care that she shot him. He said nothing to her in response and just held her closer, held the Kid closer, because he had been stupid enough to leave them out of sight. It was his fault.</p><p>“You did well, cyar'ika,” he whispered to her, rocking her body back and forth for comfort. “You did well.”</p><p>•</p><p>The Mandalorian made her go into the upper deck of the ship and take a shower. He told her to stay up there until he came and got her. He probably expected her to calm down, take a shower, but realistically, Vena spent the first few minutes dry heaving into the sink. </p><p>The problem wasn’t that she hadn’t killed before. With her blaster, she had been a deadly force for half her life, but that night was the first time she had killed someone with her bare hands.</p><p>She looked at her bloodied hands and saw the dried, speckled blood of the man who attacked her. She could feel her hand driving the blade into the soft flesh of his body, over and over. She scrubbed the blood from her hands under the hot water and tried to stop the trembling in her body but just couldn’t.</p><p>She was haunted by the intimacy of the man she killed, by her montral not relaying a proximity message to her, for being so asleep, for being so off guard and panicked that she lost herself in the moment. She didn’t have to stab that man so many times. She didn’t have to shoot blankly into the Razor Crest for as long as she did, probably well after the men were dead, and she didn’t have to shoot Din, but she had. She had been petrified. Unable to breathe or think and she just acted. <br/><br/>There was a knock on the door. “Hala?” the Mandalorian called softly.</p><p>Vena cleared her throat. “Yes?” she whispered; a pathetic squeak of an answer.</p><p>”When you’re ready, you can come down,” he told her softly. He paused and waited for an answer. “Okay?”</p><p>”Yes,” she replied back.</p><p>She listened to him linger at the door. She gently pushed her hand away from her body and rested it on the door, where she could feel his hand on the other side. The moment she placed her finger tips on the door, he sighed and left her alone.</p><p>Vena stripped her clothes and stepped into the steaming water. She closed her eyes and let the water run over her for a few minutes. She was unable to ignore feeling the squelch of flesh being torn into by a knife, over and over, then she abruptly exited her mind and she exited the shower.</p><p>She dried herself off and put on a pair of loose pants and a loose shirt, pulled socks on her feet. Again, she threw water on her face, trying to bring some color back to her face, some life into her eyes. It didn’t work. </p><p>She gathered her dirty clothes and climbed back down into the hangar. It was just how it had been before those men showed up. There was light, everything was the same, it was as if nothing had happened at all. She couldn’t decide if that made her feel worse or better.</p><p>Vena crouched down and pulled out her bag from underneath the cot. She folded her dirtied clothes neatly and shoved them into the bag. She pushed her bag back underneath the cot and stood, not doing much more than turning before she noticed the Child running for her. </p><p>He’d escaped from the Mandalorian’s grasp, where he held him at the table, trying to feed him, but the Child had fussed and wiggled, not even seeing Vena with his eyes but sensing her presence back near him. </p><p>Vena chuckled at his tiny hands as they reached into the air and tried to grab for her. She grabbed him and put him in the crook of her neck, patting his back. She faced the Mandalorian shyly.</p><p>“Thank you,” she mumbled to him. </p><p>He nodded. He approached her slowly, standing an arms length away from her, before he pointed a foot out and rested his hands on his hips.</p><p>She had felt his guilt radiating from him, the minute he came back onto the ship. It swarmed her now that he was closer to her. She felt his helmet steadily staring at her, trying to meet her eyes, but her gaze remained at his feet, still hanging onto the Child as he hugged her with all his might.</p><p>He held out his hand to her. She recognized the beads in his palm, the two thin bands of leather. Vena stared down at her broken bracelet, unmoving, unphased by it, though she knew she should have been. </p><p>"That's okay," she muttered, knowing he was waiting for a response. She forced a smile for him. "That's alright. You can just toss it." </p><p>"No, no, this bracelet has been with you for a long time, Hala, I can fix it. I can try to fix--"</p><p>"Din," she whispered, reaching forward and closing his fingers around his palm. She held his closed fist. "That bracelet has had its time. There are no clearer signs from the universe than things being broken. Maybe it's a sign I have to move on."</p><p>He shook his head. "Move on from what, Hala?" </p><p>"That bracelet was given to me by an old friend," she admitted to him.</p><p>She closed her eyes and pictured the face of her friend, the young woman, and she opened her eyes when her memory brought forth the imagine of her lifeless body. Vena shook her head and looked up at the Mandalorian.</p><p>"A friend who taught me to shoot, to ride a speeder, to see myself as a person and not an object. My first real friend. But she is gone, time has passed, and it's time her bracelet joins her, it seems."</p><p>The Mandalorian watched Vena. He felt the beads of the bracelet in his closed fist, heard her obvious pain as she thought about her friend, and he wanted to help her. Vena lived such a lonely life, he knew, from the tidbits and short stories she'd told him and the Kid, that bracelet was a reminder of someone important to her, and she was okay letting it be broken? Be thrown in the trash and never again worn? </p><p>"I don't understand," he admitted to her. "If it means so much to you, why are you letting it pass?"</p><p>Because he didn’t understand, Vena thought harder about why she didn't mind the bracelet to be discarded. Something else the woman in her past had taught her was to believe in the power of the universe. She was someone who trusted in where life took her and didn't question it. Vena knew, by her own power, or by the power of the universe, or by the power of something that her bracelet, her last connection to that wonderful woman, was meant to be broken when it was. <br/><br/>She thought about what the bracelet represented to her. Its intention was remembrance, passed off to Vena in the woman’s final moments. She looked down at the bracelet in the Mandalorian’s hand and remembered how cared she felt while in that woman’s care. She remembered the wisdom and protection, the sense of belonging, the sense of...A family. </p><p>Vena knew, then. Belonging to a found family—that’s why her bracelet had been broken. Or, at least, that’s what the woman in her past would have believed.</p><p>Vena smiled at the thought and looked up at him. “The bracelet served its purpose.”</p><p>He paused, his voice a cautious whisper. "Is it magic?"</p><p>Vena laughed. He stared at her, confused, waiting for an answer. </p><p>"No, it's not magic,” she admitted to him. “But I believe that when people we know pass on, their spirit stays with us. And I had her in that bracelet. A reminder of her, of what we had together, and I won't mourn it, because I believe her spirit in the universe brought me where she wanted me to find."</p><p>Although he had a feeling he knew the answer, he asked anyway: "Which is?"</p><p>"You two," she whispered breathlessly. </p><p>The Mandalorian felt like she could see right through him in that moment, the way her gaze remained on him, looking shyly up through her eyelashes, half of her lips turned upward in a small, shy smile. He barely registered his hand moving until it entered his vision, landing softly on her cheek. She tilted her head into his hand for a brief moment, both of them inhaling nervous breaths, then she dropped one of her hands from holding the Child to grab his hand, taking it from her cheek and simply holding it between them. <br/><br/></p><p>The Mandalorian was not scared of much. Not people, not dying, not fighting. He couldn't think of a lot that scared him, but Maker, Vena and the Child did. He barely thought before he made the decision to save the Child from the Imperial's; he barely thought when he asked Vena to join him on his journey. The very two people that were making his life feel full, making the ship brighter, making him smile, were the only two things in his life that he hadn't thought about. How fiercely he was realizing that he cared for them scared him to his core. He'd never felt like that before. Not even about his Covert, his people, because they could all protect themselves, and to some degree, so could Vena and the Child, but every day he spent with them, he felt himself opening up. Regretting, living so long without finding a place to belong, people to belong to. Genuine people. </p><p>As he looked at the beautiful girl in front of him and the Child in her arms, he knew, officially, that in time, when they would have to part—if Vena chose to leave,too—he would miss them earnestly.</p><p>”Anytime the ship is landed, I’ll engage ground security protocols,” he promised her sternly. “Nothing—“</p><p>”—on this planet will breach the doors,” she finished quietly, glancing up at him with a fond smile. “I remember.”</p><p>He pretended like she hadn’t interrupted her. ”I didn’t engage them because—“</p><p>”You don’t have to justify anything to me,” she said, shaking her head.</p><p>He stopped, she stopped him from going through the rest of his prepared words, his apology. She reached out and touched his helmet, her fingers cupping where his cheek would be, and met his visor.</p><p>“None of this is your fault. It’s happened. We can’t change the past. Okay?”</p><p>”But Hala, I—“</p><p>Her hand fell from his face. She raised her eyebrows, trying to bring some semblance of emotion back to her face. She could feel how tight her face was, how tired her face was that she had to think about it to move it, and could only imagine what that did for his guilt. She tried to stand taller and hide the shaking in her hands from him.</p><p>“Did you find the information you needed?”</p><p>She felt his irritation, too, that she didn’t want to talk about it more. The Mandalorian wanted to apologize to her and promise her safety in the future, but he hadn’t needed to, she wanted him to realize. He tried to understand her want to move the conversation away from what occurred and obliged her.</p><p>“I’m meeting an informant at a cantina tomorrow evening. They’ll give me a name, a planet. Then we’re one step closer to a Mandalorian.”</p><p>”Good,” Vena agreed, forcing a smile. It hurt his heart to see her smile and have it not reach her eyes, give them the twinkle she always seemed to have. “Good. But you must be tired, Mando, you slept less than I did. Please feel free to sleep.”</p><p>“Hala...”</p><p>“I’m sure,” she said strongly, shaking her head. “I’m not lying. I’m safe, I know that. I’m just going to stay up and try to eat something. I promise.”</p><p>Though he didn't want to leave her alone, he respected her decision and agreed. He climbed into his bed with the Child. He propped the pillows up against the back wall, leaning back on them, crossing his arms and his ankles. He tilted his helmet back and tried, despite his worry for Vena, to fall asleep. </p><p>Vena was so caught in her own head that she didn’t notice he wasn’t sleeping. She wasn't hungry, but she did try to eat, because she had told the Mandalorian that. She mostly just sat at the table, her hands still shaking. Every time she picked up the water, it would splash out and she would set it back down.</p><p>She thought being left alone would give her time to calm down, but as it turned out, the silence was not helpful. It only made her more anxious. She feared sleeping, in case something else happened while she was asleep, although she knew the ship was now impenetrable and the Mandalorian was with her. She couldn't help but feel anxious about the situation. But it was over, she tried to remember. She'd saved the Kid and herself, they had worked out ground protocols, and them probably never separating again.</p><p>There was nothing more to do, everything preventable would be done in the future, but Vena couldn't shake the feeling that she didn't trust in her instinct like she used to. Not only had she never before been in consistent danger like she was now with him and the Baby, but losing one of her hearing aids was an adjustment she needed to work with to understand. She needed to learn to trust and  listen to the signals her working montral yelled to her, and not doubt it, like she had been since she lost her left one.</p><p>Finally, after a few hours of the Mandalorian  drifting in and out of sleep, trying to keep an eye on her, she glanced over at him and he almost flinched, before he remembered that she couldn't see his eyes watching her.</p><p>He tried to stay still as she stepped quietly over to him, sitting gently on the bed. She took a deep breath, calming her nerves, before she tapped his knee. He ignored it, trying to pretend to be asleep, then she started to whisper his name. She glanced at the Child wrapped up in his cloak, ensuring she was speaking softly enough to not wake him. </p><p>He adjusted his crossed feet, moving slowly as he sat up, pretending like he had been sleeping. "Hala? You alright?"</p><p>The mere question brought tears to her eyes. He reached out for her and she clutched his hand, tears spilling from her eyes. She sighed, irritated she was crying and couldn't help it.</p><p>"That was really scary," she said lamely, chuckling at her stupid choice of words. "I just...I can't fall asleep and I was just, um, I just needed some closed in space right now and I wanted to ask if I could just sleep in here tonight. In the closed space. With the Baby, a-and," she paused as she stuttered, her eyes flickered to his chest, not his eyes, as if that was the highest her line of vision could go. "With you."</p><p>”Yes,” he said, with no worry or second thought.</p><p>Vena looked mildly surprised by his words but was so desperate to quiet her mind that she fell over on her side and slipped underneath the blanket he had tossed over the Child.</p><p>The Mandalorian tilted his helmet in her direction as she curled up at his side. Her knees were touching his calf, his shoulder was close to where her head rested on the pillow. It was comforting, to be touching, even if it was subtle. It was a change of pace, as the following night they'd slept together, he had given her essentially the whole bed. </p><p>Her voice was a whisper. "Do you always sleep with the armor on?"</p><p>“No.”</p><p>"Okay," she mumbled. "Goodnight, Din."</p><p>”Goodnight, Hala.”</p><p>”Thank you."</p><p>"You're welcome."</p><p>•</p><p>The contact the Mandalorian needed to meet told him the cantina, the following night. The Mandalorian didn't argue when Vena suggested she come along, but he did tell her they needed to enter separately, given the reputation of the man he needed to meet. Vena didn't ask for clarification, her imagination doing enough for her. </p><p>She changed her loose clothing into a better look—a pair of tight black pants and a tight, dark green dress that went to her thigh, with puffed, flowy sleeves. She almost left the refresher, ready to go, but dark markings on her neck stopped her. It was from the men who attacked her. She sighed and rummaged through her bag for a thin scarf, tying it around her neck and hiding the bruising. She didn't want the Mandalorian to see; she didn't want to feel his guilt over the situation any longer.</p><p>She took the Child into her arms and followed his directions into the town, to the cantina. Upon entrance, Vena couldn't help but grin at the atmosphere. On almost any planet, catina's were the one guaranteed atmosphere at night: dimly lit, loud, crowded. But Vena had come to adore the atmosphere. </p><p>She looked down at the Child, who was mesmerized at the wide arrangement of people inhabiting the cantina, then she choose a seat near the back, by the band, facing the entrance and held a surveying view of the place. </p><p>The serving droid rolled over to Vena. "Hey doll, what can I grab for ya?"</p><p>"A booster seat, for one," Vena said, pointing at the Child, who was sitting in the booth with her, trying to stand on his tip toes and peek over the table. "Then just two fried nuna leg's for the Baby and I, then, uh, oh, man, do you guys have Blumfruit coolers here?"</p><p>"We sure do. Be right back!" </p><p>Vena practically drowned the beverage when the droid brought it back. She'd tried a dozen different concoctions of alcohol over her life, but none she loved more than a simple Blumfruit cooler. She took one sip, having forgotten how fantastic it was, then kept returning back for small sips, as if that was more appropriate than chugging it. </p><p>Even with having taken the precaution of eating the nuna leg's with the Child, Vena was embarrassingly already out of her mind by the time the Mandalorian walked into the bar. She was not going to tell him that, however. </p><p>The Mandalorian noticed pretty much immediately when he sat across the catina from her and the Child. He surveyed the bar lazily when he entered, ignoring the stares, as always, but when he'd sat down, he watched Vena and could tell she was intoxicated by the simple way she was staring with a goofy smile at the empty glass in front of her. Her movements as she turned to the Child to help him eat were slow, her smile remained large and squinting her eyes. She was talking to him with babbles, with a high voice, so differently than she usually did, and even the Child was staring at her oddly as she did so. </p><p>The serving droid approached the Mandalorian, blocking the vision of Vena and the Child. </p><p>"Hey, doll, what can I get you?"</p><p>"Nothing for me," he said. "The woman over there, with the Child, would you get her a water? But put it in some nice glass?"</p><p>"Sure thing!" </p><p>He watched the serving droid set the glass on her table then turn, pointing a finger at the Mandalorian. Vena's happy expression, thinking someone bought her a drink, faltered when she saw the Mandalorian tilting his helmet down pointedly at her from across the catina. Vena rolled her eyes and turned her body away from facing him, taking the water begrudgingly. </p><p>Once more, a body intercepted his vision of her. It was the man he was told to meet. His hands were on his hips. </p><p>"You the Mandalorian I'm supposed to be meeting?" he asked gruffly. </p><p>"Yes," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>The man turned, glancing at Vena. "Cute. You gonna take her home tonight?" he asked as he slid down to the booth with the Mandalorian. </p><p>The Mandalorian wanted to say no, because he was not that type of man, he never had been. But he remembered the man's reputation, and he nodded. "Gonna try," he played along, feeling a bit disgusted by the idea of 'claiming' Vena without her consent or knowledge. He tried to quickly return to the reason they were there in the first place. "Where can I find other Mandalorian's?"</p><p>•</p><p>Vena felt mischevious. And good. Mostly good. So while the Mandalorian was occupied with the scary looking man, she waved over the serving droid and asked for another drink, a Fuzzy Tauntaun, that would give her another boost into the mind-numbing, happy state she was briefly existing in. After she ordered it, the Child seemingly raised his eyebrow at her, to which she waved him off. </p><p>"It's just one more. It's little," she defended. He cooed at her, his tone disbelifing. "Shush. Let me be a little alcoholic for a minute. Don't tell Mando."</p><p>"He doesn't have to tell me, because you're not going to drink it."</p><p>Vena and the Child's eyes widened as they stared at each other. The Child glanced over at the Mandalorian first, his ears turning down, before he put his eyes down. Vena made a quick face, embarrassed, then settled her worried eyes and turned to face him with a smile. </p><p>"Dearest Mandalorian, I just have to disagree," she said. "I only had one drink! Surely another won't harm anybody."</p><p>"It will harm me because I have to deal with you."</p><p>Vena clicked her tongue, mildly offended. She squinted her eyes at him. "Nonsense. I'll be able to walk back to the ship."</p><p>"You had one drink and you looked gone, Hal," he sighed. </p><p>He slid into the booth across from her. The Child sat between them, now, his head turning back and forth as they spoke to each other. </p><p>Vena softened her eyes. She placed her elbow on the table, resting her chin on the palm of her hand, bringing her eyebrows together in the softest, kindest way. </p><p>"Look at my eyes, Mando," she begged him, even though he already was. "Do I look gone to you?" </p><p>"Yes."</p><p>She stuck her tongue out at him. "Whatever," she said. </p><p>She spotted the droid rumbling their way and grabbed the drink from the droid before it had time to hand it to her. She brought the small glass to her lips and tilted her head back, drowning it, then placed the empty class on the droids serving tray. </p><p>“Thanks, darlin'," she said sweetly. "We can take the check, now, if that's alright."</p><p>"Sure thing."</p><p>The Mandalorian's irritation was evident. Vena ignored it. She took the untouched glass of water he had sent her and drank it for a few moments, then placed it in front of her with an obnoxious sigh. </p><p>"There. Water in my system. Cancels out, doesn't it?"</p><p>He remained annoyed.</p><p>"I can handle myself, my dearest Mandalorian, I promise," she stressed, rolling her eyes. "How do you think I made it this far? Luck? A guardian angel?" She paused thoughtfully, then shook her head, as if to shake her thoughts away. "Plus, I protected the Baby the other day. And me! The Baby and me. Saved all by myself."</p><p>She was definitely intoxicated if she was willingly mentioning the attack. The Mandalorian watched her face, the look of determination to prove herself to him, something she didn't have to do, but clearly thought she did. He only nodded his head. He had a feeling anything he told her in confidence would be forgotten by the morning.</p><p>"That's not gonna happen again, I think," she continued. </p><p>"It won't," he agreed. </p><p>"No, not because of any ground protocols, or whatever, because I genuinely won't be leaving your sight from now on," she decided, taking another sip of her water. "That is the last time you go somewhere without me, Mandalorian, I am never gonna leave your side again."</p><p>He nodded, amused. "Alright."</p><p>She didn't hear him and kept going. "Because I don’t think you have to protect me, you know. I think I’m capable. After I scream a little. You know? Yes,” she answered for herself. “I think we’re a good duo. I take care of the Baby, you take care of the Baby.”</p><p>“Who takes care of you?”</p><p>”Myself.”</p><p>He chuckled. "'Too many caretakers forget about themselves when caring for a child.’” </p><p>"Don't use my line on me," she said sternly, rolling her eyes. "We keep an eye on each other. I watch baby, you watch baby. You and I are aware the other exists."</p><p>The Mandalorian stared at her, his brow raised. He could almost guarantee they thought a lot more about each other than the fact that they were existing in the same vicinity as one another. He certainly did.</p><p>He leaned back on the booth, slinging one arm along the back, and hooking a thumb on his belt. He noticed the way Vena's eyes trailed down from his visor, the way she wetted her lips and bit her bottom lip gently, before she shook out of her trance, her eyes widening slightly at her actions, which she knew he most definitely saw. </p><p>He decided to pretend like he hadn't. And that the sight of her biting her lip didn't make his pants tight.</p><p>"Seems pretty kid centric."</p><p>Vena took a swig of her water like it was an alcoholic beverage. "What, you wanna take care of me?" she chuckled.</p><p>"I already do," he told her and that, she couldn't exactly argue. "Speaking of: did you bring any credits to pay for your drinks?"</p><p>"Why, yes, I did," she said, grinning at him.</p><p>She bent forward to the table, her hand reached into her boot, then she pulled out a small bag of credits. She poured the credits out onto the table, panicked slightly as one almost fell off the table, but she caught it, ignoring his sigh. When the droid returned with the bill, Vena looked between the bill for a moment, then her credits, then the bill, then her credits--</p><p>"How much do you need?" he sighed. </p><p>Vena scratched the side of her montral. "Just a few," she muttered. "It's only because I fed the Kid. Nuna legs are expensive."</p><p>"There's food on the ship, Hala."</p><p>"You don't think he deserves classy food once in a while?" she asked, pretending to be offended. "I'm over here treating him like the Prince he deserves to be, taking him clubbing, giving him Nuna legs--"</p><p>"Vena, he's a baby," he interjected. "He can't go clubbing."</p><p>"You said he was fifty," she defended.</p><p>The Mandalorian sighed. "Can we go?"</p><p>"Yes," she agreed. She paused and turned to the band, who had just began playing another song. "Right after this song," she spit out quickly, then grabbed the Child from his booster seat and hustled him to the dance floor. </p><p>The Mandalorian stared at the spot she had been sitting for a long while. His patience was being tested. Then, he turned, to the dance floor, and in a matter of seconds, any irritation he had towards Vena was over. </p><p>There were not many people on the dance floor, a few couples, a number of women with barely any clothes, and then there was Vena and the Child. She set him on the ground, crouching down in front of him, and she was bopping her head from side to side, shaking her shoulders with him, trying to encourage him to dance with her. The people on the dance floor moved to give them some space, all of their faces breaking out into smiles and grins, watching this random lady teach her child how to dance. </p><p>The Child was shy, shaking his head at Vena, feeling all of those eyes on him. She stood up and distanced herself a little from him, telling him to keep his eyes on her, then she started to bounce with her knees, bouncing from side to side, in place, and he mirrored her. When Vena started laughing and the girls around them did, too, the Child understood he was making them giggle and continued to dance on his own, just bouncing at their feet, as the girls and Vena all danced around him to the upbeat music. </p><p>The Mandalorian didn't even really realize he was smiling, too, until Vena looked over at him proudly, pointing at the Child. He nodded, acknowledging her. She waved her hand at him, an amused look on her face. She didn't seem shocked when he shook his head. </p><p>Instead, she started to swing her hips around, moving her hands down the length of her hips, biting her lip. She watched his visor follow her hand down to her waist, her thigh, then she raised it and held a finge rout to him, gesturinng him forward. His breath caught in his throat, he felt hot in his armor all of a sudden, and he crossed his legs, shaking his head no, then turned to the table, trying to get their bill ready for the droid. </p><p>Vena laughed at his reaction and dropped her flirting, turning back around to the Baby, cheering him and his little dancing spree on. </p><p>When the song ended, and it was a good five minutes later, the girls on the dance floor, the band, and some of the watching patrons cheered on the Child as he fell over on his bottom, giggling merrily. Vena swooped him up from the floor, bowing with him, blowing a kiss at the band, telling the girls they were amazing. She talked and talked, probably nonsense, until the band continued into their next song. Vena returned to the booth where the Mandalorian sat.</p><p>"Alright, now I'm ready to go."</p><p>He stood. She followed his visor as he stood up, their chests close, his visor tilted down at her and her chin up to keep his eye. </p><p>"You are something special, Hala Havena," he said huskily. </p><p>His hand slipped into hers and he said nothing more, leading her from the bar. It was probably a good idea to hold onto her hand as they walked; once they exited the cantina and went into the quiet town, Vena could not walk straight for her life.</p><p>On the dimly lit road out of the town and the path back to the Razor Crest, she kept tripping on branches, she said, although he knew she was just tripping on air, and he paused to swing her up into his arms and do the walking for the both of them. </p><p>The Mandalorian set her in his bed when they returned to the ship. He told her to stay put, which she agreed to, because the fatigue that came with alcohol was hitting her. She fell backwards onto the bed, her arms and legs spread across it. Shaking his head, he went up to the cockpit and lifted them into the air, set them on a course to their next planet, then punched the Razor Crest into hyperspace. He returned down to the hangar bay. </p><p>Vena's head lifted as she heard him approach. "So now we're just punching into hyperspace without letting me watch?" she asked dramatically. "What are we?" </p><p>The Mandalorian rolled his eyes. She felt it, even if she didn't see it. He nudged her leg with his hand to warn her he was going to lay down, too. She scooted closer to one of the walls as he sat down. He pulled off his boots, the holsters on his legs, his vambraces, the chest piece, his cape. Vena watched silently as each layer of his protection was stripped off and placed carefully on the floor beside his bed. She had absolutely no idea why he was undressing, or where he would stop undressing, but she stayed silent and still as she watched, propped up on her elbows, watching the show eagerly. He stopped when he was left with his gloves, his brown baggy pants, a long sleeved t-shirt, and, of course, his helmet. He turned her way and she averted her eyes, as if he was naked. </p><p>He laid down on his side. She flipped over completely, her back to him, unable to soften her eyes from how wide they were. She couldn't stop seeing how tight his shirt clung to his upper arms. The exposed skin on his wrists, between his shirt and his gloves. He was practically naked, in her eyes, and she wasn't sure if she was supposed to look. She didn't feel like she should. </p><p>"Hala," he whispered.</p><p>"Present," she muttered. She paused, as he took a breath to speak, then rushed out: "Is that legal? To not have your armor on? Is that allowed? Should I cover my eyes?"</p><p>He wondered if she could understand he was showing his interest in her by looking at her. He thought it was obvious, anyway, the way he deliberately held the helmet on her for longer than he did with anyone else. He'd told her on Kiros he meant to touch her montral, to make that romantic gesture. But besides the longing touches they both shared, there hadn't been anything more to push their dynamic into a different direction. That was why he took off his armor and laid with her. He thought that would be obvious. But Vena seemed uncomfortable by the gesture. </p><p>"Creed says it's just my face," he mumbled to her. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Does this make you uncomfortable?"</p><p>"No," she said quickly, as she registered his embarrassment. "No, not at all, I'm just trying to be respectful. Making sure it's legal by law of Mandalorian or whatnot."</p><p>"I wouldn't have done it if I didn't trust you." </p><p>She paused. "You trust me?" she whispered. </p><p>Her doubt in the statement caused a feeling of regret in his stomach, for reasons he didn't know. She had never done anything to make him doubt her trust. She protected the Baby, defended him, pulled her own weight. She was kind, but fierce, shy and somehow, also outgoing. She was a mystery, sometimes, one that he wanted to drop everything in his life and solve. If he knew anything about the last four months he'd spent with her, it was that, somehow, someway, she grew on him, and he could say one statement with absolute truth: despite it all, living his entire life without women, it was that woman who made women hard to continue to swear off. Every time she laughed he felt himself look over at her to see the joy on her face. He found himself watching her, all the time, whether it be mundane tasks or her doing nothing at all. She demanded his attention without saying a word. </p><p>"Of course I do," he said. </p><p>He frowned. Her reaction didn't make him feel any better. Embarassingly, he pushed his body up onto his arm, aiming to just stop trying to open up to her and put the armor back on, but Vena flipped over as she heard him.</p><p>Suddenly, her hand was on his chest, her face was close to his helmet, and she was shaking her head, her brow together worriedly. </p><p>"No, don't," she whispered, averting her eyes. She lowered her head, pressing the side of her head lightly against his helmet. "Don't," she said, again, and placed her hand flat on his chest. </p><p>He tried not to shiver underneath her touch. That was the closest he'd ever felt her before. Her hand was warm as it laid against his chest, blocked only by his thin shirt. She moved her hand down his chest lightly, slowly, both of them scared and unsure about the actions they were both taking. She pushed her hand into him as her hand rested on his stomach. He laid back down, slipping one of his arms underneath his head to prop his head up to look at her. </p><p>Vena's eyes trailed from where her hand stayed on his stomach and up to his visor. Once more, he felt hot, as her eyes moved slowly up his body, taking in the way his pants clung to his hips, how tight his shirt sleeve was around his bent arm. She could see the outline of his chiseled chest peaking through his shirt, tempting her, daring her, and he thought about it too, the way she was taking him in so hungrily with just her eyes. He thought about his Creed, repeating in his head over and over that she just can't see his face, tempted beyond what he ever thought was possible to just take off his glove and touch her skin...</p><p>But then the Baby snored between them and they both jumped out of their thoughts. </p><p>Vena patted the Mandalorian's stomach lightly, a goodbye, then laid back down. She let the Child stay between them, a blockade of sorts, but, perhaps, that was for the best. </p><p>"Goodnight, dearest Mandalorian," she teased quietly. </p><p>He turned his helmet to stare at the back of her head. He couldn't help but grin as he told her goodnight, too, then rolled over on his side and closed his eyes. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Return to Tatooine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>At the rate they traveled, one could never really tell when morning versus night was. The one piece of advice the Mandalorian had given to Vena was to sleep whenever possible, given that she had never spent so much time in space before and her body was not used to it.  So when the Child and Vena were up before the Mandalorian was, the fact in itself was surprising, as he was always up and allowing them to sleep in. She was shocked to turn over and see him still sleeping.</p><p>He must have needed it, she guessed, so she remained quiet. Vena laid with him while he slept. Her hand was on top of the Child’s lap, his three little fingers playing with her own. She was glad to have peace between the three of them for a little bit. Quiet. </p><p>She usually did sleep in longer. Little did he know, ever since she had started drinking, a good nights sleep after a night of alcohol consumption was non-existent. She probably only slept for a few hours before her body woke her up. She felt good, though. No headache, no stomach ache, she could remember everything that happened. Unfortunately. </p><p>Notably, she remembered how terrible she felt when the Mandalorian admitted he trusted her by stripping off his armor. She knew, in the moment, what that meant for him and for their relationship--mainly that he was showing his trust in her, to both refrain from temptation and to protect him. He wanted her to know him and, Maker, did she want to know him back, but Vena couldn’t help but be uncomfortable by his non-verbal proposition for one reason: he was doing what she could not, and that was trusting her fully. And she did trust him, to protect her, care for her, but there was still the looming discovery of her similarity to the Child hanging over their heads like an impending doom to their relationship. </p><p>Every time something happened between them, something small, like a touch, or something big, like him taking off his armor to sleep beside her, Vena couldn’t help but be reminded of how poorly their story was going to end. Everything he would potentially tell her or open up to her about or trust her with would be tarnished and he would hate her. How could you really maintain a relationship with someone when they lied to you the whole time?</p><p>He wouldn’t even know the real her. He would know some portion of who Vena was, and then the secret she kept from him. </p><p>Every time she looked at him for too long, felt those stupid feelings in her stomach, she hated herself for being so intrigued by him, by flirting, by sleeping in his bed.</p><p>For the first time, she admitted to herself that she hated that helmet. She laid across from him, thinking about how it may be easier for her to lie to him when she couldn't really know him entirely. She couldn’t look into his eyes and lie to him, only his dark visor. She wouldn't know his face, ever. And maybe that was why she could lie to him, despite how true he felt to her, how kind, how nervous.</p><p>Vena lifted her chin up quickly as she heard a soft hiss beside her, where the Mandalorian was. His helmet was lifting off of his chin. Her eyes widened, shocked, before she realized both of his hands were at his side, nowhere near his helmet, he was still sleeping—</p><p>The Child. Vena grabbed the Child’s hand down from where it was raised and squeezed it tightly, breaking his concentration, then she and him stared, breathless, wide eyed, at the Mandalorian, waiting for a startled awakening or an angry one, but there was nothing. He remained sleeping. </p><p>Vena turned her head to the Child, her panic settling. He was staring at her with a frown, lines etched into his forehead, his little lips in a pout. </p><p>"Don't do that ever again," she whispered to him. She was serious and conveying that to him through their bond. “Please.”</p><p>He sent her apologetic feelings and moved to snuggle into her shoulder. She sighed, knowing then that he must have felt her want for the Mandalorian’s mask to be off. As always, the Kid was just trying to help. She pressed a kiss to his forehead.</p><p>“Why don’t we just go back to sleep?” she muttered. “We’ll let Mando wake us up.”</p><p>•</p><p>When the Mandalorian woke up, and it was only a few moments past the Child and Vena falling back asleep, he wasn't exactly shocked to see them both sleeping. Little did he know. He smiled softly, at the way the Child was laying on Vena's chest while she slept on her back, his ears probably tickling underneath her chin. She had one arm on his back, one arm thrown over her eyes to block out the dim lighting in the docking bay. </p><p>As usual, he planned to let them sleep in. But, for some reason, he was moved to lay there with both of them for a little while longer. He listened to their soft breathing, his own eyes closed in the moment. They were quiet together, now, and he found himself wanting them awake. When they were quiet, the ship was quiet, his ears were quiet, and he had come to enjoy their noise. Not that they were loud, by any means, but the mere sound of the Child and Vena existing together warmed him. It meant, he supposed, that he was not alone in the Crest, that he wasn't alone, regardless. Something he had once preferred had been altered by two people he happened upon...To his mind, nothing could explain it. How lucky he was, to be in the company of those two, for however long... </p><p>And just with that thought, the Mandalorian could no longer sit there quietly. The thought of their situation being temporary resurfaced at the front of his mind and he had to distract himself from thinking further into it. He pushed himself up without giving the sleeping duo beside him another glance. He kept his back to them while he pulled his armor back on. </p><p>He thought when he would return to his armor, he would feel something. Shame, or regret, but he didn't. He felt nothing. And not in a bad way, just...Nothing poor entered in his mind when he started to pull his armor back on. He didn't necessarily like the feeling of sleeping without it, he didn't like the hassle of taking it off and putting it all back on, but that wasn't why he chose to take it off. He was bad with words, that wasn't a secret, but he wanted Vena to be aware. Of what? He couldn't exactly say. If he was being honest, he was hoping she would put more thought into why he acted the way he did with her, then explain it to him, because he sure didn't know. </p><p>He liked her. He knew that. But why he acted so unlike himself, felt so nervous, he hated, and had no idea what he was supposed to do about it. That was clear to everyone on board. His subtle glances her way or allowing her to sleep for as long as possible, the little thoughtful moves, as little as they were, he hoped would lure Vena into a confrontation or a brave move of her own. She must have had more experience with enjoying someone's company, he assumed, and he wanted her to guide him into a comfortable territory for them. What that meant, he had no idea, nor of what he was okay with, or wanted to do, but...Somehow, he thought, if Vena was beside him through it, he wouldn't mind it too much. </p><p>The problem, as usual, was his Creed. He was the one who proposed limitations to whatever relationship he wanted to endure with her. He was the one who was too unsure to make a bold move. In the end, he knew, it would be his own limitations that would prevent anything from occurring. So maybe, just maybe, he had to do something. Before it was too late and Vena was gone, the Child was gone, and they couldn't engage in any further exploration of a relationship. </p><p>The Mandalorian turned, looking at Vena, starting to think about what he could manage, but then--the alarm. Exiting hyperspace. </p><p>The Mandalorian rushed up the ladder to turn off the alarm before it woke the Child and Vena. He settled the alarm and paused, listening for their awakening, but heard nothing. He took the ship out of hyperspace smoothly and navigated into the planet's orbit, landing softly, powering down the ship, before he returned back to the bed. </p><p>He woke them up with a light touch to Vena's arm. She lifted it from her face, seeing him peering over her with one opened eye, then smiled at him before she lifted both of her hands up to her face to rub her eyes. Her movement woke up the Child, who rolled off of her stomach and plopped down on the bed with his bottom. He crawled over to the Mandalorian to say his good morning, a soft touch to his arm, a light push, before he babbled and let the Mandalorian know he wanted to get down off the bed. The Mandalorian did so, then turned back to Vena.</p><p>She sat up and scooted to sit on the end of the bed with him, her head rested back against the doorway. They both kept an eye on the Child as he waddled aimlessly around the bay.</p><p>The Mandalorian gave Vena a brief summary of their situation: new planet, another step on their chase to find more Mandalorian’s. He told both of them to behave, told the Child to stay in his pod, and told Vena to look tough while he did the talking. She rolled her eyes.  </p><p>With the Child in his pod and Vena with her cloak over her montrals, the Mandalorian led the two of them into the city of the new planet they'd arrived on. While both the Child and Vena were intrigued by the city, only the Child showed such curiosity on his face. He was leaning at the edge of his pod, his big eyes up and looking at the the graffiti on the tall buildings as they walked slowly through the dimly lit street. </p><p>Vena's montrals were signaling creatures, beyond the sensation of a crowd. Her eyes were scanning through what she could as she kept her head forward, like the Mandalorian. He used his helmet to see what his regular eyes could not, she used her montrals. In the shadows, where the light didn't touch, red-eyed creatures lurked, keeping a watchful eye on the three, waiting for a misstep into the darkness. It would not happen. </p><p>The Mandalorian cut across Vena's path, stopping at the hidden entrance of where Vena sourced the crowd to be originating from. She crossed her hands at her front, her eyes steady, her face calm and stern. </p><p>The Twi'lek guarding the entrance looked at the three of them, lingering on each of them for several seconds, before he realized the Mandalorian was the leader of their crew, and he raised a brow at him, prompting him to speak. </p><p>"I'm here to see Gor Karesh."</p><p>The Twi'lek nodded. His voice was deep, low. "Enjoy the fights," he told them, stepping across the doorway, and revealing a dark hallway. </p><p>The Mandalorian walked through. Vena waited for the Child's pod to pass her before she followed as well, her head turning slightly, her chin at her shoulder, turning her right montral towards the Twi'lek to notify him that she was watching him, too. </p><p>The hallway led them to a fighting ring. The squared platform was in the center of the room, surrounded by a circular arrangement of seating. Dozens of colorful flags hung above the ring, most Vena did not recognize. She couldn't look for too long, trying to notice the setting, the people, the energies, listen to her montral, and follow the Mandalorian all at the same time. And still look tough and not overwhelmed, which was a more accurate expression for her, but one she did well not to show. </p><p>The Mandalorian walked along the ring. Vena's eyes flickered down to the Child as she saw him flinch when the vibro-axes of the Gamorian's clashed, igniting a roar from the crowd, both cheering and booing alike. Vena caught the Child's eye and she lifted the side of her mouth quickly, the flash of a soothing smile, before she took her eyes away from him. </p><p>"You know this is no place for a Child."</p><p>Vena turned her head to the Abyssin beside the Mandalorian. He was a few feet ahead of her. He took a seat beside the Abyssin, the assumed Gor Karesh, then gestured swiftly for Vena to sit, too. She sat on the bench beside him, her back straight, her feet flat on the floor. She tapped her fingers along her knees before it occurred to her she was sitting unnaturally, clearly looking suspicious, and she relaxed a bit, extending her legs and crossing them at the ankles. She had to keep her eyes straight. The Abyssin and the Mandalorian were sitting on her bad side, she could hear absolutely no word passed between them, not only due to her deafness, but the consistent crowd chatter didn't help any, either. </p><p>Instead, she focused on the vibrations next to her. The beating of the Mandalorian's heart, it steady and familiar to her. The quick beating of the Abyssin beside him, his raspy breathing causing a rattle in his chest. Doing so resulted in not much else other than proximity, so she tuned into their energies, sensing and analyzing, waiting for one of them to make a move, if any. She hoped not, but the setting of their meeting was causing her some suspicion, for no other reason than the fact that they were surrounded by people. Most would meet in a crowded area to avoid conflict, but she had a feeling the Mandalorian, nor the people he did business with, did not adhere to that rule. </p><p>A Gamorrean fell, causing a jolt from Vena's left side, a rush of frustration. Probably from Gor Karesh. She refrained from looking over, still. </p><p>Surprise from the Mandalorian caused Vena's head to turn, noticing his helmet already turned to the Abyssin. Vena's eyes met with Gor Karesh's single eye briefly, acknowledging each other, before the Mandalorian relaxed and averted his gaze. Unfortunately, Vena turned back to the ring, too, losing her hearing. </p><p>Mere moments later, she felt feet start to shuffle, hands patting, and she drew her blaster at the same time Gor Karesh drew his. Only, he ignored her quick transition to stand in front of the Child's pod, and instead, shot one of the Gamorrean's dead. The Mandalorian had no time to react before the surrounding people were on their feet, too, blasters raised at the Mandalorian. Vena kept hers on Gor Karesh, who lowered his blaster, and was looking at her curiously. </p><p>"Who's the girl?" he asked. </p><p>Vena's eyes flashed to the Mandalorian's visor as he turned his head to her. He hadn't moved, nor panicked. It made Vena briefly wonder if she should have reacted at all, given the Mandalorian hadn't. She was sure he would have some conversation with her later, critiquing her. She was learning. They both knew that. </p><p>"No one," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>"Oh, she's definitely someone if her reflexes are that fast," chuckled Gor Karesh. "That's alright. I'm sure we'll find out once we take that hood off her."</p><p>He waved his finger in the air and some of the blasters on the Mandalorian turned to point at Vena. She noted the small number pointed at her, she noted her positioning to where the Mandalorian was, knowing, if anything, he was going to launch himself in front of her and the Child to protect her by his Beskar. Unfortunately, there was no coverage except behind the Mandalorian's armor, so Vena's head started to spin, thinking quickly, before it was too late. But with blasters pointed at Vena, too, the Mandalorian noticeably tensed. </p><p>Gor Karesh took that as a signal to speak. "Thank you for coming to me. Normally, I have to seek out remnants of you Mandalorian's in your hidden hives to harvest your precious shiny shells. Beskar's value continues to rise. I've grown quite fond of it. Give it to me now or I will peel it off your corpse." </p><p>The Mandalorian's voice was deep and unsettling. He was threatened, by Gor's words to Vena, more than the ones directed at him. Gor was going to regret that, in time, but the Mandalorian went there for more than a fight: "Tell me where the Mandalorian's are and I'll walk out of here without killing you." </p><p>"I thought you said you weren't a gambler," said Gor Karesh. </p><p>The Mandalorian's wrist lit up with its hidden weaponry. </p><p>Behind Vena, the Child understood what that meant; he reached forward, pressing the button on the front of his pod, then ducked inside of the closing lid, protected from the ensuing fight. </p><p>"I'm not."</p><p>The Mandalorian ignited the Whistling Birds from his vambrace. While the Birds were hitting the bodies of those who surrounded him, he rushed to Vena, both of them pushing and pulling each other out of the way of the Gamorrean from the ring whose loud, shaking footsteps alerted both of them to move as he launched himself from the ring and toward them. </p><p>"Are you okay?" he rushed out. </p><p>"Mando, I'm fine--" she breathed. </p><p>She stopped and tugged him towards her again, where their hands were met, seeing the Twi'lek who had been guarding the door reaching for him. Vena raised her blaster and shot him in the chest, then sensed footsteps coming her way and she ducked down, unfortunately, allowing the Zabrak to punch the Mandalorian's face. Vena winced, apologetic, but the Mandalorian gave her a light shove out of the way. He stepped backwards into another attacker, who he threw an elbow into. When he turned back to the approaching Zabrak, he was delivered another blow to the face, but expected it that time, and took the punch without stumbling. He flipped out his vibroblade and stabbed it quickly into the Zabrak's chest before he turned and threw it at the other attacker behind them. Both of them dropped to the floor. </p><p>"Come on," said Vena, leaving no room for conversation, only waving her hand and getting him to follow her. She had noticed Gor Kareesh scurrying away when the fighting started. She would have ran after him, to help the Mandalorian, but at the slow pace the man was moving, she had absolutely no doubt they could catch him with a regular-paced walk. </p><p>The Mandalorian's longer strides put him ahead of her. She briefly looked up at him, annoyed, but slowed down to walk beside the Child like he was clearly instructing her to do. She watched as he threw out the line from his vambrace, hooking it around the ankle of Gor Karesh and tripping him. He dragged Gor's wailing body to the light pole Vena and the Child stood at. He detached the line from his vambrace, threw it over the light pole, then strung Gor up. </p><p>It was only when the Mandalorian stood in front of him, his hands on his hips, that Gor started to speak: "Alright, I'll tell you where he is. But you must give me your word that you won't kill me." </p><p>"I promise you will not die by my hand," stated the Mandalorian. "Where is the Mandalorian you know of?"</p><p>"Tatooine." </p><p>"What?" said Vena and the Mandalorian together. He turned to her, his hand raised to shush her. She narrowed her eyes at him.</p><p>"The Mando I know of is on Tatooine,” reiterated Gor.</p><p>"I've spent much time on Tatooine. I never saw a Mandalorian there,” said the Mandalorian.</p><p>"My information is good, I tell you! The city of Mos Pelgo. I swear it by the Gotra."</p><p>The Mandalorian nodded. His helmet tilted to look at Vena. "Tatooine it is then."</p><p>Vena flinched as the Child's pod bumped into the back of her, following after the Mandalorian as he turned on his heel and started to walk away. Vena followed after the two of them. He slowed, waiting for her to walk together. He glanced down at her, but she kept her eyes forward and ignoring him. </p><p>Gor Karesh called after the trio. "Wait! You can't leave me like this. Cut me down!" </p><p>"That wasn't part of the deal," said the Mandalorian.</p><p>He turned and withdrew his blaster, firing a single shot. He shot the light of the pole out, engulfing Gor Karesh in the darkness, and soon, his screams rang in their ears as the creatures in the night started to swarm him. </p><p>They didn't say a word to each other the entire walk back to the Razor Crest. Vena could sense he wanted to speak, she felt his confusion and his worry, and she heard the unmistakable inhale of someone prepping themselves to speak, but it was cut short as he decided to not say anything. He could tell in the way she refused to look at him that she was not happy with him, but he wasn't sure why. </p><p>She waited until they were back inside of the Razor Crest, in the cockpit, and in hyperspace to speak. </p><p>"Okay," she said, speaking over the soft buzz of the ship cruising through hyperspace. Even the Child in her lap quieted when she spoke.</p><p>The Mandalorian swiveled his chair around to face her. <br/>
<br/>
"What the Hell was that?" she asked. </p><p>"What was what?" he sighed, crossing his arms. </p><p>"What was the whole you telling me to act tough and then getting all bothered when guns were pointed at me?" she asked him, shaking her head with annoyance. "If we're going to do this, stick together, I have to act tough and look like I can handle myself and not panic when I'm in danger, but it wasn't even me, it was you. You tensed up and Gor Karesh noticed, Mando."</p><p>He ignored the pain in his chest when she called him that. She had gotten used to so freely calling him Din while they were on the ship that he noticed when she didn't, when it was intentional. He acknowledged completely that her complaint was valid, he did go back on his word, but he couldn't help it. The responsibility he felt for Vena, too, especially being the cause of her hearing loss and the incident of her and the Child being attacked on his ship, when he wasn't there... He couldn't help but worry for her, look out for her. But, of course, he wasn't going to tell her that. Instead, it came out as such: </p><p>"Then stop acting tough and actually look like you can handle yourself." </p><p>Vena's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"</p><p>He was too far gone to go back, now. "Tonight was our first night of a potentially dangerous situation since you lost your montral, since we've been traveling together, and you didn't say anything about it. You haven’t said a single thing more to me about losing your montral. Or the night you and the Kid were attacked.”</p><p>Vena stared at him blankly, for a while, before she looked at him with utter confusion. "Because there's nothing to say."</p><p>"Yes, there is," he insisted. "I do think you can handle yourself, you've done it your whole life, you're alive--"</p><p>"Clearly," she snapped. </p><p>"--but you've been through something. Losing your hearing. Being attacked. Killing that man, so intimately, not like you're used to, and you haven't said anything else," he told her. "So what? You're just going to keep going along, pretend like nothing is wrong--"</p><p>"Because nothing is wrong!" she snapped at him, but the Child in her lap whined, and they both tried to cool their rising irritation with each other. Vena's voice was softer when she spoke again. "I lost my hearing, yes. But I'm adjusting. I'm not helpless--"</p><p>"--I never said you were--"</p><p>"--I never implied that you thought that," she sighed aggressively, pausing to run her hands over her face. She knew he wasn't talking just to talk, so to speak, his irritation came from a true place. He cared, so clearly, that he wanted her to talk, he was thinking about her through their aggressive negotiation, he was being honest with her. He didn't doubt her ability to handle herself and she couldn't be mad that he cared. She just didn't want to talk about it. Any of it. She never had before--why start now?</p><p>”Are you sure there’s nothing we can do?” he asked her honestly, breaking her thought. “You don’t know of anybody who can fix...” He paused abruptly and his helmet tilted down to the Child on her lap. "Kid, can we--"</p><p>"No," interrupted Vena sternly. “I won’t let him hurt himself trying to heal me.”</p><p>”If he can do it, what’s the big deal? The Kid wants to see you okay, too, he has to, and I do, too. If there’s a chance we can fix your montral, why aren’t we taking it?”</p><p>Vena ignored him, solely because she didn't have a better argument than not wanting the Child to potentially hurt himself over an injury she could and was adjusting to, with time. It was unnecessary, to not only ask the Child to fix her, but expect him to. </p><p>"Things happen the way they do," she muttered, wanting to change the subject. "That night that I asked to sleep with you, that's what you want to hear. I needed comfort. I got it. And now, I keep going. I adapt. Just like always, just like any other thing I've experienced in my life. I'm just going to keep going."</p><p>He could say nothing else to her. He regretted even reacting how he had, with the outcome it brought, and he couldn't even think of a reason why they had argued. He did trust her to handle herself, he shouldn't have shown his panic for her, it was his fault. He'd told her to act tough, look menacing, she had. She kept her montral out and alert, protected the Child, wanted to help him fight the attackers, but he instinctively pushed her away out of fear of her safety. Some part of him didn't trust her, it seemed, or maybe he couldn't let go of how protected he wanted to keep her. </p><p>She was fine. She hadn't acted any differently from losing her montral, beside her short-lived grief. She asked for comfort the night of the attack, then decided they were going to stay together whenever possible and necessary, and she hadn't acted any differently after that. She was a grown woman, established, set in her ways. He had no reason for questioning her coping mechanisms. He had no reason to question her, on anything, except pure care for her wellbeing. He hated that. </p><p>"I'm sorry," he muttered, abruptly turning the chair back to the console. </p><p>Vena let the silence hang. She watched the back of his helmet, her eyes squinted, wondering what in the universe he could possibly be thinking so hard about. She knew she was the subject matter in his head, he often got a feeling, some mixture of concern, resentment, frustration when he thought deeply, and when there was a fleeting feeling of care, she understood exactly what he felt like to her when his mind was on her. And yet, despite knowing he was thinking of her, she still could not figure out exactly what he was thinking about. </p><p>"Thank you for caring," she told him, instead. "I know you do. Maybe you just don't know how to show it, and that's okay, but you told me yourself when we're not in this ship, when we're out there, in that crazy, unpredictable, dangerous galaxy, I have to look tough. I can do my part. I can keep my reactions minimal, I can fend for myself, think quick, but some of presenting myself like a threat comes from you, too, Din. Both of us trusting each other to protect ourselves and the Child, we have to, or else we show our weaknesses." </p><p>"Caring about you and the Child isn't a weakness," he muttered. </p><p>"Not to us," she said, agreeing, but still firm in her tone. "But to others. To the Empire." </p><p>"I just..." he started to say, bravely, but he stopped. He didn't know why. He knew what he wanted to say, Vena probably did, too, but he didn't say it, even though he knew, he just couldn't get it out of his mouth. "I want you to feel capable."</p><p>"I do," she promised. She reached forward with her foot and spun his chair around, forcing him to face her. She leaned towards him, her hand outstretched. "I'll call a truce on this if we both do better at trusting each other. You trust my ability to handle myself, I trust you to let go of your fear." </p><p>"My fear?" he asked. </p><p>Vena smiled, knowingly. "You don't have to say it for me to know you fear harm coming to me, Din," she whispered. </p><p>His face flushed. He knew she could feel his embarrassment eating him alive in his constricting armor. He remained quiet, unmoving, joyed in some capacity that she said what he could not make exit from his mouth. He could say it in his head all day: I care about her, I care about Hala Havena, but when it came to telling her, he suddenly had no voice. </p><p>"It's okay, I won't tell anyone," she decided coyly. She reached forward and grabbed his hand from his lap, loosely shaking their hands together. She decided to change the subject, because he was still silent and embarrassed by her statement. "We headed to Tatooine?"</p><p>He nodded, glancing behind him at the blue tint surrounding of hyperspace travel.</p><p>"Have you ever heard of Mos Pelgo?"</p><p>"No," he said quietly. </p><p>"Can't say that I have either," she said. She looked down at the Child. "Have you?"</p><p>The Child shook his head. </p><p>"I can ask a friend for more information," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>"Oh, you have friends?"</p><p>He sighed. "I do."</p><p>•</p><p>Tatooine. Vena hadn't missed the heat in any sense. She'd taken off her cloak, left in her long sleeved jumpsuit, ready to combat the heat wave she knew came with being on the desert planet. But not even seconds off of the ramp, she huffed and unzipped her jumpsuit, tied the sleeves around her waist and left herself in a tank top. She glanced over at the Mandalorian, knowing he would say nothing about the scars along her arms, but shy to have them so visible nonetheless. </p><p>"Sorry gang!" called a voice; an older woman in a dark orange jumpsuit, her only notable feature being her wild and curly hair. "What are you guys doing? You know he doesn't like droids!"</p><p>The three little Pit Droids who were hustling their way stopped and turned, buzzing and humming, hurrying away from the ship with their tool boxes that were almost half their size. </p><p>"May as well let them have at it," called the Mandalorian, glancing back at his ship. "The Crest needs a good once-over."</p><p>"Oh! So he likes droids now," muttered the woman with an aggressive eyeroll. She turned to the droids at her feet. "Well, you heard him. Give it a once over!" </p><p>The Pit Droids ran for the Crest, passing and bumbling through Vena, the Mandalorian, and the Child. The woman exclaimed as one of the Droids ran directly into Vena's kneecaps, bouncing backwards. Vena bent down to helped it up and ushered it along, giggling quietly at the little droid. When she stood, the woman had approached them, her hands crossed over her chest, but a smile on her lips. </p><p>"I guess a lot has changed since you were in Mos..." she paused and averted her gaze from Vena to the Mandalorian, when he withdrew the Child from the satchel on his hip. She lit up, thrilled, and screamed with a high pitch voice as she extended her hands to grab the Child from him. "OH, this little thing has had me worried sick!" </p><p>Vena watched with slightly widened eyes as the woman all but snatched the Child from the Mandalorian's hands. He looked over at Vena's worried eyes and he shook his head, in a 'this is normal for her' type of way, and she relaxed, watching, amused. </p><p>"Looks like he remembers you," laughed Vena, when the Child cooed and awed at the woman holding him.</p><p>The woman took the time to look at Vena, her face scrunched and her eyes squinting, looking up at down at the Togruta. Vena was unsettled by the obvious scrutiny and took a slight step behind the Mandalorian. </p><p>"Where did you pick up this one?" asked the woman, her nose turned up. "She's a bit too cute for a scrap of armor like yourself."</p><p>Vena laughed, then slapped her hand over her mouth when the Mandalorian turned his helmet to stare at her. The woman laughed heartily, then switched the Child to her arm to extend her hand out. Vena shook her hand, still giggling. </p><p>"Vena," she introduced. </p><p>"Peli," she said, then looked between the two of them.  "So, how much do you want for him? Just kidding. But not really. You know, if this thing ever divides or buds, I will gladly pay for the offspring."</p><p>The Mandalorian sighed and chose to ignore her. Vena got the feeling he must ignore most of Peli's antics when he visited the woman. </p><p>"I'm here on business," he told her. "I need your help."</p><p>"Oh, then business you shall have. Care for me to watch this wrinkled little critter while you seek out adventure?" she wondered, crinkling her nose and shaking her head in front of the Child's face. He laughed and reached for her hair. </p><p>"I've been quested to bring this one back to its kind," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>Peli raised her brow. "Well, can't help you there. I've never seen anything like it. And trust me, I've seen all shapes and sizes in this town."</p><p>"A Mandalorian Armorer has set me on my path. If I can locate another of my kind, I can chart a path through the network of Coverts."</p><p>"You've been the only Mando here for years, from what I can tell." </p><p>Vena intercepted the conversation. "What about Mos Pelgo? Are you familiar with such a town?" </p><p>"Boy, I haven't heard that name in a while," sighed Peli, raising her brow in remembrance.</p><p>"It's not on any of the maps," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>"That's 'cause it was wiped out by Bandits," said Peli. "Once the Empire fell, it was a free-for-all. I didn't dare leave the city walls. Still don't."</p><p>"Can you tell us where it used to be?" asked Vena.</p><p>Peli turned and glanced around at her docking bay, then hummed as she saw the droid she was looking for. "R-5! Bring the map of Tatooine." </p><p>The red and white Droid started to roll towards them. </p><p>"No, take your time, seriously," said Peli impatiently. She turned back to the Mandalorian and Vena. "You just can't get good help anymore. I don't even know who to complain to."</p><p>When the droid approached them, it projected a hologram of the planet. Peli explained to them where Mos Eisley was located, Mos Espa, then repositioned the map to show the southern hemisphere of the planet. She pointed, at a blank space in the hologram, and named it was Mos Pelgo. </p><p>"I don't see anything," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>Peli shrugged. "Okay, well, it's there. Or it used to be. It's an old mining settlement," she said. She looked at the Crest behind them. "And they're going to see that big hunk o'metal long before you land."</p><p>The Mandalorian looked at his ship, too, or alternatively, their only mode of transportation. He turned back to Peli quickly as an idea formed in his head. "You still have that speeder bike?" </p><p>Peli nodded. She hugged the Child close to her chest one last time before she handed him back to Vena, who handed him to the Mandalorian. Before he could say anything, Vena was shuffling excitedly past him and following Peli to where the speeder bike sat underneath a cover. He and the Child shared a look before he approached the women.</p><p>"Hang on," said the Mandalorian, confused, interrupting their conversation about the bike. "You take him. I'm driving."</p><p>"No," said Vena, stepping back and away from the Child, her hands clasped behind her back. "I'm driving." </p><p>"No--"</p><p>"Out of the two of us, who has more speeder bike experience?" argued Vena, raising a brow. "C'mon. I'm going to say me. I have no actual argument, but I want to drive."</p><p>"You drove a speeder on different terrain, you don't know how to drive on sand--"</p><p>"That is a bold assumption," she interrupted, holding her hand over her heart, offended. "Mando, come on, did you miss the part where I told you I lived in Mos Eisley?"</p><p>"You didn't say that," he said quickly, his face flushing. He paused, digging through his memory for when she had mentioned such pertinent information. He had nothing. Shyly, quietly, he muttered, "You lived here?"</p><p>"I told you I hung out in Mumble's Turnaround for a bit. Do I look like a Mos Pelgo girl to you?" she asked him. She was messing with him, amused by how obviously he was disappointed in himself for not remembering information she genuinely hadn't told him. But, she did want to drive the speeder bike and was prepared to toy with him for that honor. "This just proves you don't listen to me."</p><p>"Get used to it. That's all men," sighed Peli. </p><p>The Mandalorian's reply was quick: "I listen."</p><p>Vena, the Child, and Peli shot him varying degrees of suspicion. Vena and the Child squinted at him, in a way that was so her, entertained by him and disbelieving of him all at once with only a small adjustment of her brow and her eyes. He twisted the Child into his arm, breaking his view of Vena, hoping that would stop the look on his face.</p><p>The Mandalorian pointed his finger at Vena. "Stop teaching him to do that. He spends too much time with you."</p><p>"Do what?" asked Vena innocently. </p><p>He glared at her, she could feel it through his visor, but she grinned, sending him a playful wink. </p><p>"Fine. Whatever. Drive the speeder, Vena."</p><p>Vena cheered lightly and grabbed the handles of the speeder. They said quick goodbyes to Peli, who promised to sort of keep an eye on her Pit Droids as they fixed up the Razor Crest. Vena and the Mandalorian pushed the speeder bike out of Peli's bay, through the town of Mos Eisley. They adjusted themselves on the bike, Vena in the front, the Mandalorian with a light grip around her waist, and the Child on the back, sitting securely in his satchel. </p><p>"Everyone ready?" asked Vena. </p><p>"Don't drive like--" the Mandalorian tried to tell her, but she jerked off into the setting suns, forcing him to grab on tighter to her waist. She was giggling, having planned for him to be somewhat scared by her driving, but she tilted her head into his helmet. Something of an apology. </p><p>Vena drove them over the dunes and the hills of Tatooine, driving fast, but ultimately safe enough that he couldn't complain. They both turned their heads every few minutes to check on the Child, who was smiling as he leaned forward in his satchel to watch, his ears flapping in the wind. </p><p>Vena was transported back to her days on Tatooine as she flew through the sand. She hadn't drove through many different terrains on speeder bikes, but something about the sand captivated her. The dunes, particularly, the opportunity to feel her stomach drop if she caught air from a hill. Looking back, she found it endearing how often she had looked for a little danger in her youth, something as small as riding a bike recklessly, compared to the real and ever-present danger she was in now with the Mandalorian and the Child. How abruptly her life had changed. </p><p>She felt the Mandalorian tap his fingers along her waist and she leaned back into him, her good montral by his helmet. </p><p>"When did you live on Tatooine?" asked the Mandalorian. </p><p>"I don't know," she said, turning her head towards him, but keeping her eyes ahead.  "Maybe my early 20s?"</p><p>"And this is where you learned to drive a speeder?" </p><p>"No, I learned on Ryloth. But that's same terrain. I just used to take some of the girls out to ride here," she laughed. "We'd steal some poor drunk man's speeder and take it for a spin. Taught a lot of girls how to drive. Learned how to hotwire a droid."</p><p>"Valuable skill," he noted softly. </p><p>Vena agreed. She was going to divulge more on the topic, but a signal from her montral stopped her. She gasped quickly and slammed on the breaks, forcing the Mandalorian to nudge into her and the Child to let out a small, scared noise behind them. She planted her feet on the sand. </p><p>"What, what?" asked the Mandalorian, looking around. </p><p>She told him to hush and looked back at the Child, sending the same message to him. She let go of the brake and cruised slowly up the hill, enough for the Mandalorian to barely see over it, and notice the Bantha's in the distance. Sandpeople. </p><p>"Oh, we can spend the night under their protection," said the Mandalorian. He settled back into the seat. "Good idea."</p><p>Vena turned around to look at him, appalled by his lack of caution. "What?"</p><p>"Go forward. Approach slowly, then stay on the speeder. I'll do the talking."</p><p>She stared at him blankly. "Approach the Sandpeople." </p><p>"Yes." </p><p>"No."</p><p>"Stop," he sighed. "I've spent a lot of time on Tatooine, Hala." </p><p>He said it in a way that left her no room to argue. He didn't want to argue with her, he wanted her to trust him, and she did, but it didn't mean she didn't remain suspicious of the Sandpeople. As most Tatooine inhabitants, she'd heard the stories of the brutal Tusken Raiders from the other girls in Mos Eisley, some who'd been kidnapped after dark, stories of a single man slaughtering an entire camp, utter horror stories. They were not a people to encounter, let alone sleep near, in Vena's eyes. But, the Mandalorian viewed them differently. He trusted them, for whatever reason, and Vena trusted him. </p><p>She disagreed, but obliged, and continued on. She did as he told her and approached slowly, the noise of the speeder alerting the Sandpeople and the Bantha's. She powered down the speeder a good distance away from their camp, then he climbed off the bike and approached the four Sandpeople who stood to meet him halfway. He stood tall and unafraid, initiating the conversation. She couldn't help the look of shock that passed over her face when he spoke their language; hard, loud clicks and guttural yelling with emphasized hand gestures. </p><p>When the Mandalorian turned back to Vena, he instructed her to leave the bike and bring the Child. She did as he asked. She smiled at the Sandpeople, trying to appear friendly, since she didn't know their language. She held the Child closely to her chest as the Mandalorian laid a hand on her lower back and guided her along with him to the campfire, where they all sat together.</p><p>Vena said absolutely nothing and simply listened as the Mandalorian conversed. She watched carefully, reading their relaxed body language, but also trying to connect some of the hand gestures with sounds exiting from their mouths. She didn't realize, but she loosened up severely trying to learn their language instead of give into her fear. As they sat together, sharing food, keeping warm, talking with the Mandalorian, Vena wondered how accurate the stories of the Sandpeople were. How biased, perhaps. </p><p>The Mandalorian seemed to notice her guard drop. He waited for a break in the conversation to turn his helmet to Vena. "See?" he said quietly. </p><p>Vena rolled her eyes at him, but he noticed her small smile. </p><p>They slept by the fire that night. When the Sandpeople left to sleep in their huts, Vena asked the Mandalorian to quietly teach her to thank them. She practiced it quietly with him, over and over, embarrassed by her crude pronunciations while he teased her, until he was satisfied with her statement. </p><p>In the morning, when the suns rose together, Vena and the Mandalorian both said thank you and goodbye, then they were off to the city of Mos Pelgo once again. </p><p>Whether they had taken the Crest or not, the residents of Mos Pelgo would have seen them approaching. It was barely enough to be classified as a city, Vena thought, as she saw the scarce buildings on the horizon. Through her montral, Vena noted no more than twenty or so inhabitants existing within the random strip of land. </p><p>"Mos Pelgo," noted the Mandalorian in her ear. </p><p>Vena agreed with his unimpressed tone of voice. "Mos Pelgo," she repeated. </p><p>They were silent as they rode through the town. She and the Mandalorian were observing the townspeople who were pausing their activities to watch them pass through. No one offered any sort of welcoming or greeting. All were silent, suspicious of the two cruising into their desolate town. </p><p>"Vena?" he asked quietly. </p><p>"Curious," she muttered back to him, unbothered by the overwhelming feeling of the townspeople. She couldn't blame them for their curiosity, nor their suspicion. It wasn't everyday they got visitors, especially since being wiped off the map and located in the middle of nowhere. </p><p>Vena parked the speeder at what she guessed was the Cantina, by the look of it, with the dull yellow flags on the entrance hangar. She reminded herself to maintain her stoic face, to match the emotionless helmet of the Mandalorian, before she climbed off the bike after him. She released the Child from the satchel and placed him on the ground, allowing him to run after the Mandalorian as he climbed the few steps up to the entrance of the Cantina.</p><p>The only sound in the Cantina was the clinking of the Mandalorian's boots as he entered. </p><p>There was one person, a Weequay, behind the bar. His eyes flickered to the Mandalorian, Vena, then the Child. He continued cleaning the glass in his hands, but his eyes remained on Vena. "Can I help you?"</p><p>"We're looking for a Mandalorian," she said kindly. She passed in front of the Mandalorian and walked to the bar, leaning an elbow on it. "Any chance you've seen one here?"</p><p>The Mandalorian joined her at the bar, resting his hands loosely on the edge. Vena glanced over at him, a warning. If he saw her do so, he ignored it. She could feel his mild irritation by her interference. She was sure, again, it would end up being a conversation for later.</p><p>"Well, we don't get many visitors in these parts," said Weequay. "Could you describe him?"</p><p>The Mandalorian said, very plainly and bluntly: "Someone who looks like me."</p><p>Vena resisted the urge to reprimand his rude comment, settling with just a squint of her eyes at him, and not a nice one. She rested her face and turned back to Weequay, who was watching the two in front of him with confusion. </p><p>"Please," said Vena. </p><p>"The Marshal, I'd guess," said Weequay.</p><p>Vena opened her mouth to ask another question, but the Mandalorian cut her off. "Your Marshal wears Mandalorian armor?"</p><p>"See for yourself."</p><p>The Mandalorian and Vena followed Weequay's extended finger to the doorway. A slender man stood there, tall, with a faded green chest plate, a jetpack, and an obvious Mandalorian helmet, tinted green with a red outline following the visor. Vena pushed herself from leaning on the bar as he approached them. </p><p>"What brings you here, stranger?" he asked, his accent thick, yet smooth. </p><p>The Mandalorian stepped forward to greet him. "I've been searching for you for many parsecs."</p><p>"Well, now you found me," he said. He sauntered to the bar. "Weequay, three snorts of spotchka."</p><p>Weequay withdrew the jug of blue liquid from underneath the bar, along with three glasses. The slender Mandalorian took the jug and took the three glasses to the table behind them and took a seat. The Mandalorian moved to sit with him, but he stopped, frozen, when the new Mandalorian lifted his helmet from his head and set it on the table. In mere seconds, his hope to finding another Mandalorian Covert was lost. </p><p>Vena's eyes widened slightly as she knew what that meant to her Mandalorian. She stepped closer to him, a hand on his wrist. A warning, to some degree, to not let his anger get the best of him. She remembered the quick rise of irritation when she mentioned the Mandalorian she had known in her youth that hadn't worn his helmet all of the time. She didn't want an unnecessary fight to occur, now that they were in the presence of someone who disregarded the Creed Din Djarin followed, not when they could avoid it. </p><p>"I've never met a real Mandalorian." said the Marshal. When the Mandalorian continued to stare at him, he glanced over at Vena, somewhat hoping she was as much of a deterrent for the Mandalorian as she looked to be, then continued. "Heard stories. I know you're good at killin'. And probably none too happy to see me wearing this hardware."</p><p>He paused to pour himself a glass of spotchka.</p><p>"So, I figure only one of us is walking out of here. But then I see the little guy..." His eyes flickered to the Child, who was fascinated by a pot about the same size of him, standing on his tip toes to peer inside of it. Then, he looked back to Vena, wetting his lips. "And the pretty woman, and I think, maybe I pegged you wrong."</p><p>He set out a glass for the Mandalorian and another for Vena. </p><p>"Who are you?" seethed the Mandalorian. </p><p>"Cobb Vanth. Marshal of Mos Pelgo," introduced the man. He leaned back casually in his seat, his arm slung across the back of the chair, his foot extended out. He looked between Vena and the two glasses of spotchka, a smirk on his lips. "You can take it, if you want, darlin'."</p><p>"I'll wait 'til he's finished," she said, nudging her head over at the Mandalorian beside her. </p><p>"Where did you get the armor?" asked the Mandalorian. </p><p>"Bought it off some Jawa's. "</p><p>"Hand it over."</p><p>Cobb smiled at him. "Look, pal, I'm sure you call the shots where you come from, but 'round here, I'm the one who tells folks what to do."</p><p>The Mandalorian took a step forward, dragging his wrist from Vena's grip. His voice was unwavering: "Take it off. Or I will." </p><p>"We gon do this in front of the Kid?" asked Cobb, unimpressed. </p><p>"He's seen worse."</p><p>"Boys," interjected Vena. She stepped between them, her hands out. "Come on. You're both pretty." </p><p>The Mandalorian ignored her. He raised his helmet, genuinely looking over her, as if she hadn't intercepted them in the first place. </p><p>"Right here, then?" asked Cobb, chuckling. </p><p>"Right here."</p><p>Vena put her hand on the Mandalorian's chest plate, her eyes narrowed. She turned to look at the Marshal as he stood, placing his hand very obviously over the blaster at his side. The Mandalorian matched the Marshal's pose. </p><p>"You need to move," said the Mandalorian quietly to her. </p><p>"You need to--" she started to reprimand, but she stopped, her eyes darting to the ground beneath her feet. She gained the attention of both the Mandalorian and the Marshal when a confused hum exited her mouth and she frowned, her eyes scanning the floor. "Something's approaching, something big. Underground."</p><p>Mere seconds after she said it, the Cantina started to tremble. She could feel the approaching creature, shaking the sand as it moved, hearing the shifting of the sand, and seeing a massive, ambiguous shape in her mind.</p><p>Cobb held a finger up to the Mandalorian. He walked to the doorway of the Cantina, and Vena and the Mandalorian followed closely behind. They waited on the porch, the Mandalorian and Vena standing together, and Cobb on the opposite end. A siren started to blare through the town as the wind rushed through, shaking the flags above their head. The Bantha they'd passed at the towns entrance was howling, people were rushing and scurrying onto the porches of the buildings. </p><p>Vena nudged the Mandalorian with her elbow as she noticed the creature start to pass through the town, but it was for nothing, because one could not miss it. The sand looked like pure water, pure waves as the creature below moved through it effortlessly. A low howling accompanied the creature, its warning, then it was followed by the burrowing of the creature, debuting its back as it dove deeper into the sand. Seconds later, a growl broke through the sand and a giant mouth followed, launching itself up and out of the sand, swallowing the Bantha whole, then disappearing underneath the sand once more. </p><p>Cobb was the first to speak, breaking Vena and the Mandalorian out of their shock: "Maybe we can work something out."</p><p>Vena turned on her heel and shuffled back into the Cantina for the Child. She asked Weequay if he was alright, briefly helping him pick up some of the fallen items from the bar. She found the Child inside of the pot he had been looking at earlier, having noticed his big ears sticking out. She shimmied him out, holding him tightly to her chest. She, the Mandalorian, and Cobb Vanth walked along the connected porches of the town, all of them still somewhat attentive for a possible return of the sand creature. </p><p>"Oh, I didn't catch your name," said Cobb suddenly, turning to hold his hand out to Vena. Vena ignored the clear way he stretched across the Mandalorian to shake her hand, but she shook his hand anyway, to be polite. </p><p>"Vena," she said. </p><p>"Pleasure," he said, grinning at her. </p><p>"How long has the Krayt Dragon been around here?" asked the Mandalorian abruptly. </p><p>Cobb smirked, noting how simple it was to irritate the Mandalorian. "That creature's been terrorizing these parts since long before Mos Pelgo was established. Thanks to this armor, I've been able to protect this town from Bandits and Sandpeople. They look to me to protect 'em. But a Krayt Dragon is too much for me to take on alone. So, help me kill it, I'll give you the armor."</p><p>"Deal," said the Mandalorian, with no hesitation, no conference with Vena. "I'll ride back to the ship, blow it out of the sand from the sky, use the Bantha as bait."</p><p>"No, it'll hear you," said Vena, stopping them in their walk. The men turned to look at her and her concentrated brow. "The same way I do. A creature that size, and one that operates underground,  it'll stay towards the surface, use the vibrations of the sand to navigate."</p><p>Cobb looked at Vena with praise. "How'd you know all that?"</p><p>"I operate similarly," she shrugged. </p><p>"So you can hear it, the same way it can hear you?" he asked, and she nodded. "You comin' along, too then?"</p><p>Vena's eyes trailed off to the Mandalorian, waiting for him to protest, or extend some sort of disagreement, but when he didn't, and remained at his normal level of irritation, she looked at Cobb and nodded. </p><p>"I know where it lives," said Cobb. </p><p>The Mandalorian turned to him. "How far?"</p><p>The Marshal admitted it was not far, but they would still need to ride speeders to get there. Vena watched him as he spoke, reading his feelings, confirming he was being honest, before she and the Mandalorian returned to the speeder to wait for Cobb. Vena let the Child walk back to the speeder, much to the dismay of the Mandalorian, who wanted to move quickly. </p><p>"What are you so uptight about?" she asked. </p><p>"Don't like him," he said gruffly. </p><p>Vena rolled her eyes. Typical men. She let the Child walk and stayed back alongside him as the Mandalorian hustled back to the speeder for no good reason. She turned to look behind her as she heard an engine approaching. When she saw the modified speeder, a single engine pod racer, Vena couldn't help but laugh. Cobb slowed beside her and noticed her grin, patting the engine's side proudly. Vena ran her fingers over the front, laughing a little, and complimented him on the ingenuity. </p><p>"Old pod from Mos Espa, I imagine," she noted. </p><p>"Sure is," he agreed. He looked ahead, where the Mandalorian was still walking towards their speeder.</p><p>If he had looked back at them, Vena hadn't noticed. She wasn't sure he really cared to keep track of where the Marshal was. His dislike for the man was clear to her because she could sense his feelings, even though she hadn't wanted to, but it was obvious to her he didn't like the Marshal. If there were reasons beyond wearing the armor improperly, Vena didn't know. Some part of her guessed another issue was there, one the Mandalorian would be oblivious to, but she had a feeling she knew. </p><p>"Don't mind him," she said, waving her hand. "He's just a traditionalist."</p><p>"Sure," said Cobb, quickly, uncaring about her statement. He leaned closer to her, still driving the speeder slowly, and made direct eye contact with her. "Miss Vena, are you safe with him?"</p><p>Vena leaned back from him, her face scrunched in confusion. "What? Yes, of course. Why would you say that?" </p><p>Cobb released one of his hands from the handle of the speeder and scratched at his neck, hooking a finger underneath his scarf and tugging at it. Vena watched him, confused, before she realized the general area of his throat and her hand flew up to cover the bruising on her neck. She had been so distracted by the heat of Tatooine she hadn't realized her neck was bare from her cloak, the bruising around her neck from the attackers was dim, but still prevalent. </p><p>"No, no, no," she defended quickly. She tried to adjust her lekku to hide her neck more. Another thing to be self-conscious about, she thought miserably. No more desert planets. "No, he would never. I got attacked a bit ago. Choked out. It's from intruders, attackers, not him. <em>Never</em> him."</p><p>"Okay," said Cobb. </p><p>"Promise," Vena stressed, sensing his mild disbelief. "He would never hurt me."</p><p>"Alright, hey, my apologies," said Cobb, raising his hand in surrender. "Just wanted to make sure." </p><p>"No, thank you," she said honestly. She rested her hand on his shoulder. "Thanks, really. Very kind of you."</p><p>The Mandalorian was staring at her with his arms crossed when she turned her head. He was sitting on the speeder bike, unapologetically staring at the two of them approaching. Vena giggled at his clear energy—jealousy—and she rolled her eyes before she moved to set the Child in his satchel on the back of the bike. </p><p>"Sure you got room on that speeder?” asked Cobb, chuckling. He crossed his arms over his chest, too, mocking the Mandalorian. “Mine's a little more spacious."</p><p>"She rides with me," said the Mandalorian finally.</p><p>Vena, again, rolled her eyes with exasperation. She decided to not argue with him and simply sat on the back of the speeder, looping her arms around his waist. </p><p>Cobb led them from the town. They sped through the low mounds of Tatooine, over the sand, in the terribly hot heat of the two suns. Vena rested her head on the Mandalorian’s back, her arms snug around his waist. She thought she might have dreamt it, but she swore she felt his hand tap her own, slowly, longingly, as it rested on his stomach. She knew it was not her imagination when he rested his hand on top of hers, his fingers slipping into her palm. It lasted for only a few moments, and, admittedly, Vena didn't know what convinced him to do so, but his subtle movement warmed her heart. </p><p>They moved for quite a while on the speeder bikes until Vena's closed eyes abruptly opened, signals from her montral alerting her to the presence of life up ahead. She wiggled her hand from where it was still subtly intertwined with the Mandalorian's and she tapped him, aggressively, then waved at Cobb, signaling for him to stop, too. </p><p>In the shade of a stretch of tall rocks, the Mandalorian and Cobb Vanth came to abrupt stops. It took no time at all for both of them to dismount the speeders and grab their weapons, their long distance rifles, and be on the lookout through the scopes. Vena moved slower than them, for no other reason than to figure out more helpful information to them. She stayed on the speeder, her right montral turned out, towards the coverage of the tall rocks. Her nose scrunched, listening, trying to interpret. She felt Cobb's worry and his panic, his confusion over her not taking cover. Or, probably more accurately, what the Hell she was doing anyway. </p><p>"Just a few creatures," she said quietly. The echo of the rocks was apparent, even with how soft her voice sounded. "Four legged. Small."</p><p>"Small is relative,” muttered Cobb.</p><p>Vena turned to him, rolling her eyes. “Smaller than the Krayt Dragon."</p><p>All three of them jumped when a creature emerged from the rocks, almost entirely having blended in with the darkly casted shadows. It was indeed relatively small, but fierce, nonetheless; it held sharp, long teeth in its pointed snout, not to mention spikes along its spine. The first emerged, then another behind it, and another, another, and within seconds, the silence was gone and the echo's of snarls and growls bounced from the rocks surrounding them. </p><p>Vena didn't move. She tensed, with the idea of being outnumbered, and immediately glanced back at the Child, noting his placement. She looked at the lead animal, the one who approached them first, demanding its eyes to her. When it kept looking away from her, breaking eye contact, Vena slowly and carefully stood in front of the speeder, closing a fraction of the distance between them. Its eyes were on her as she took inches forward, projecting her feelings towards the creature, pushing a promise of safety and serenity to the leader of the pack. She lowered her chin and kept her eye contact bold, trying, because she had done a similar task before, to different predatory creatures on many planets in her past. While it didn't always work, it worked enough for her to risk it, despite the intense caution Cobb and the Mandalorian were emitting. </p><p>"Stop being afraid," she ordered, to both of them, turning her chin the slightest bit to speak to them. </p><p>"Right, well, that’s a little harder than you think it is,” muttered Cobb back at her. </p><p>"It isn't,” she said flatly. </p><p>The Marshal’s eyes flickered to the Mandalorian, who hadn’t moved since setting up his rifle. He would have thought the Mandalorian would have grabbed her, called after her, did or said something more than the absolute nothing he was doing to stop Vena. If anything, the Mandalorian looked intrigued by her, and not terrified. His helmet was tilted minutely, curiously, as he watched her. </p><p>"What is she doing, Mando?" he whispered harshly to the man beside him. </p><p>But the Mandalorian didn't care to answer or acknowledge him. </p><p>The leader of the pack emitted a low whimper, not a growl or a snarl, and Vena lowered herself to the ground, squatting, her hands together between her legs. She raised her brow at the creature, watching the spikes on its back lower, his posture loosen as she continued to maintain eye contact with it. </p><p>"I don't fear you, darling," she whispered to the animal, going so far as to extend her hand to it. "Let us pass."</p><p>Cobb looked somewhat horrified by how close she allowed herself to get to the creature. "Is she talking to that thing?"</p><p>"Yes," said the Mandalorian. He shook his head, himself out of a trance only Vena could throw him in, then cleared his throat. "And I'm about to do the same thing."</p><p>He stood from behind the speeder and cupped his hands over the bottom of his mask, shouting in what little communication he thought the Tuskens used for the Mastiffs. He paused, seeing the lead Mastiff in front of Vena perk up, then he slung his rifle across his back and joined Vena. He crouched beside her, sighing at her bright eyes and small smile, and when he put his hand out, too, alongside hers, the Mastiff wiggled its bottom in front of them, allowing them to scratch and pat his back. </p><p>A few Tusken Raiders exited from their hiding spots in the rocks. After seeing the Mandalorian, of which there were probably not many they knew, they approached easily and spoke fluidly with the Mandalorian for a few moments while Vena continued to love on the Mastiff. </p><p>Cobb Vanth felt severely ignored as he watched them. "Hey, partner," he said, trying to be casual, but firm. "Wanna tell me what's going on?"</p><p>"They want to kill the Krayt Dragon, too," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>Vena ignored the cautiousness Cobb was feeling the entire way to the Camp. He followed behind them on their speeder bike, as Vena and the Mandalorian followed the Tusken Raiders. She couldn't exactly fault Cobb, knowing she had felt a similar degree of caution about the Sandpeople only a mere day ago, but she told the Mandalorian, quietly, that she would speak to Cobb about any prejudice or contingencies he held if it became an issue. </p><p>"Well, I can--"</p><p>"No," said Vena, lightly patting his stomach, where her hands were laced. "No, Mando. You can't talk to people nicely. That'll be my job."</p><p>To that, he said nothing more. </p><p>Because Cobb and Vena were the only two in the Camp who didn't speak the language, they found themselves sitting together by the fire. A few Sandpeople were with them as the suns set, but most were settling into their tents, or starting to. Cobb, Vena, and the Mandalorian were promised a meal, hence their prolonging seating by the fire as the meal cooked. Vena's arms were around her stomach, hoping to quiet the growling of her stomach, wondering briefly if her stomach spoke Tusken Raider better than she could. As she listened, intently, and watched the Mandalorian's interactions with the Sandpeople, she could still not understand much more than when they were speaking about themselves, due to the pointing at their own chests.  </p><p>The bowls of soup were passed out to them, the Mandalorian setting aside his own for a private moment, though he thanked them. Vena dove directly into her bowl. While it was customary, or it had become customary for the Child to eat first, before Vena and Mando did, she could not sit and watch the Child eat at his alarmingly slow and distracted rate before she got at least a bite in.</p><p>Two spoonfuls shoveled into her mouth later, she looked around for the Child, wondering exactly where he was anyway. She found him sitting between the Mandalorian's legs, against the bench Mando sat on, and he was staring at her with his bowl in his lap. The minute she made eye contact, he pushed himself up and wobbled over to her, his hands reaching in the air, his fingers grabbing for her and her bowl. </p><p>"No," said Vena through a mouthful of soup. She raised her bowl in the air, higher than he could reach. "You have your own bowl, you can eat. Or Mando can feed you this time. This is good, you'll love it and understand."</p><p>The Child lowered his hands. He got that wrinkle in his brow, pushed out his lips, and Vena, knowing it was his temptation to whine and cry, squinted at him, daring him to. He opened his mouth, to scream, assumedly, and Vena quickly scooped him from the ground and set him in the Mandalorian's lap. She interrupted a probably engaging conversation between he and the others, but she was sure they would all rather her interrupt than a screaming child do so. She picked up the bowl underneath his legs and set it in his hand. </p><p>”What are you—“ he tried to ask. </p><p>"Feed your Kid," she said, turning her head from the Child and refusing eye contact. "I'm invisible until he's done eating his own food."</p><p>Vena said nothing more and left the two of them, joining Cobb Vanth again across the firepit, her good montral right beside him, now. She continued to shovel the soup into her mouth, hoping if she did so obnoxiously and dramatically, the Child would mirror her and quit pouting at her. She could feel it, his fake sadness, as if he forgot she could tell when he was genuine or not. </p><p>Cobb chuckled. "Momma doesn't want the Baby, huh?"</p><p>“I want to eat my own food without dirty baby hands trying to get it,” she told him. She paused, after she spoke, realizing he'd called her a parental figure. She certainly didn’t think of herself as such. They were just together, really. All three of them. Their own little strange entity in the world. She'd thought of them as a family, briefly, before, but the thought dimmed quickly. Families were forever, weren't they? And the three of them were...Not that, it seemed. Their arrangement was temporary, they both assumed, and their feelings would follow. But maybe that was all the more reason to act on her feelings, because they wouldn’t be together forever....</p><p>"The Kid got a name?" asked Cobb casually. </p><p>Vena paused. She genuinely wondered if she herself had even asked the Mandalorian for a name for the Kid. From the time they'd met, the Baby had just been...Well, the Baby. She frowned and shook her head in response. "No, actually. Just the Kid. The Baby. Mando just found him, I think. And then they found me. And that's our riveting story." </p><p>Cobb nodded thoughtfully. "Short and to the point," he complimented. "What, was he an orphan?"</p><p>"Maybe," said Vena, shrugging.</p><p>"Not too uncommon, though, is it?" said Cobb, nodding along. "Unfortunate reality of this damn galaxy."</p><p>Vena nodded, too. His questions, while not intrusive in any sense, only curious, brought her hunger to a close. She thought about his statement, about the number of parentless people in the universe, and she had to believe for a moment that all three of them were probably orphans. The Mandalorian certainly was, knowing and remembering his story about the Mandalorian's saving him as a child. He'd done the same, she realized, then: saw a lonesome child in the world and saved him, just as his people had done to him. </p><p>Vena looked over at the Mandalorian. She found herself smiling. A good man, she thought, again. How lucky she was to have met him and his big heart. </p><p>"That was pretty neat, what you did back there with them critters," said Cobb, unknowingly interrupting her subtle gazing at the Mandalorian. "Is that something you're good at, negotiations?"</p><p>Vena chuckled and agreed. "I'd say so. I don't often brawl. That's usually Mando's job. I'm just there for moral support, I guess."</p><p>"Guessing he wasn't around when that happened," he said, nodding down at her neck. </p><p>"You are correct," she blushed, a little hurt by his unintended assumption. "I can hold my own, though, I like to think."</p><p>"Didn't doubt you for a second," he told her, shaking his head. "I just meant I can't imagine he would have let that happen without some serious consequences for those bastards."</p><p>Vena hummed in understanding. "Wouldn't know. He showed up after they were dead."</p><p>Cobb watched her as she continued to eat, completely nonchalant, and not kidding in any sense. He noticed he was staring at her somewhat bug-eyed and cleared his throat. "Uh, wow, well, what a pair you two are. Here I thought you were the nice one. And the pretty one."</p><p>Vena rolled her eyes, but laughed along with his harmless flirtation. "I don't know. Mando might be pretty."</p><p>"You've never seen his face?" asked Cobb. </p><p>Vena shook her head. "'s part of his Creed."</p><p>"And you don't mind that?" he asked again, baffled. He looked over at the Mandalorian, imagining what it was like to not only be stuck inside those pieces of metal for prolonged periods of time, but also traveling with someone who followed such a rule. Never truly knowing them. Or, how much of knowing someone came from being able to know them visually. </p><p>But Vena wasn't as bothered by it as he seemed to be. "No, no. Doesn't make much of a difference, most of the time. Not knowing what he looks like has no factor on how good a friend he's been to me."</p><p>Cobb paused. "That's it?"</p><p>"What?"</p><p>He looked at her wide eyed, then the Mandalorian. "Just friends? You two?"</p><p>Vena blushed and nodded. </p><p>"Oh."</p><p>"What?" she asked worriedly. </p><p>Cobb fidgeted, embarrassed. "Nothing. Just thought you'd been together a long time. You two give off that impression, like you've been together for ages."</p><p>Vena shook her head and awkwardly laughed. “Uh, no. No. We've only been traveling together for four or five months."</p><p>"Never would've guessed,” said Cobb casually. </p><p>It was then, thankfully, the Mandalorian turned to the both of them and interrupted their awkward conversation. He gestured to the Tusken Raider beside him, who was holding a black melon out in front of Cobb. The Tusken Raider stuck his thumbs into the melon, forcing a black dust cloud to emit from it. Vena held back the look of contempt from her face, unintrigued by it, but Cobb did not. </p><p>Cobb took the melon from the Tusken Raider with a nod. He smelled it, then looked over at the Mandalorian. </p><p>"What am I supposed to do with this?"</p><p>"Drink it."</p><p>"It stinks."</p><p>The Mandalorian was frustrated. "Do you want their help?"</p><p>"Not if I have to drink this."</p><p>The Tusken Raider in front of Cobb started to speak, angrily, and it didn’t take a genius to figure that he was offended. Vena and Cobb both looked to the Mandalorian for translation.</p><p>"He says your people steal their water and now you insult them by not drinking it. They know about Mos Pelgo. They know how many Sand People you killed,” said the Mandalorian flatly. </p><p>"They raided our village!” snapped Cobb. “I defended the town!”</p><p>"Lower your voice.” The Mandalorian was calm.</p><p>"I knew this was a bad idea," muttered Cobb, and tossed out the drink inside of the melon towards the fire.</p><p>The Tusken Raider stood, barking and shouting at Cobb, who returned the energy heartily, despite not understanding one another, their anger and offense was steadily apparent to each other. </p><p>Vena growled under her breath, irritated that she had to set her bowl down, but she did and she stood. She shoved Cobb backwards with one hand, putting her finger towards his face.</p><p>"You need to calm down,” she told him firmly. </p><p>"I need to calm down," he said, lowering his head.</p><p>Vena looked behind her at the Mandalorian. “Help?” she asked, her eyes flickering to the Tusken Raider. <br/>
<br/>
The Mandalorian’s helmet faltered, his brow together at Vena’s reaction, but he turned to the Tusken Raider. </p><p>"What are you telling him?" asked Cobb.</p><p>"Same thing I'm telling you. If we fight amongst ourselves, the monster will kill us all,” he said bluntly. He used his hands to gesture for the Tusken Raider, instead of speak. "Now, how do we kill it?"</p><p>With some mediation, a plan was devised. With the Mandalorian translating, and suggestions from Cobb and Vena, their plan was decided and going to be executed the following morning at first light. </p><p>The remaining Sandpeople around the fire left for their tents. Cobb left the fire going and laid his back against a log by the fire.</p><p>Vena, now on speaking terms with the Child, was readying her cloak as a pillow on the ground across from Cobb, when the Mandalorian approached and extended his hand out to her. </p><p>She squinted up at his hand. “Yes?”</p><p>“Come with me,” he said, extending his hand again.</p><p>Vena took it and raised herself from the ground with his help. She tucked the folded cloak into her arm, grabbed the Child, too, when he said to, then was guided along beside him with his hand on her lower back. </p><p>"Where are we going?" she asked him.</p><p>He said nothing. He stopped, a little ways into the camp of the Tusken Raiders, out of sight of the fire Cobb was sleeping beside. The Mandalorian stopped at a tent and crouched over, pulling open the cloth entrance. It wasn’t spacious, barely bigger than the bed they slept in on the ship, but it there were a few blankets and pillows, and a little lantern to see inside of it.</p><p>Vena looked back at him with her brow raised.</p><p>He dropped the tent entrance and put his hands on his hips, shrugging. “They think we’re a family,” he muttered shyly. “That we shouldn’t sleep outside.”</p><p>Vena’s mouth turned into a circle shape as she recognized the meaning behind by his words. She muttered something shyly about how that was sweet, the Sandpeople offering them lodging. She<br/>
set the Child on the ground. He walked into the tent and laid down right in the middle, between the pillows, then looked back up at Vena and the Mandalorian as they watched him settle in. </p><p>She rolled her eyes and crawled in, laying on her side and facing the Child. He turned to cuddle into her. </p><p>The Mandalorian settled in next to her, with no more room than they were used to back in the ship. He turned out the lantern at the foot of the tent, closed the fabric tight, then laid down on his back with a soft grunt.<br/>
<br/>
Vena faced him, curled up with the Child and a blanket over both of them. She could see the faint outline of his armor in the moonlight shoving through the thin tent walls, watch his chest rise and fall. She wished they were back on the ship. He seemed much more comfortable sleeping without his armor, less tense, with the notable safety of the ship. She felt somewhat bad for him, having to remain in the armor as he slept, for once.</p><p>His voice was somewhat of a whisper as it came through the darkness of the tent: "You did a nice job today, cooling Vanth."</p><p>"Thanks. You, too, with translating for us,” she said quietly in return. He hummed in acknowledgement. “You think being a Bounty Hunter has made you learn a lot of languages?"</p><p>The Mandalorian was quiet for a moment, thoughtful. "I do."</p><p>"What's your favorite language?"</p><p>He shook his head, humored, at her questions. "I don't know."</p><p>”Okay,” she said.</p><p>She watched him still, probably trying to sleep after the long day they’d had, but as another question came to her mind, she took in a breath, drawing his helmet to tilt towards her. </p><p>"Can I ask you something, genuinely?" she asked. He nodded. "Why does having that armor mean so much to you, Din? This has nothing to do with your quest—helping Cobb, or the Sandpeople. Why are you doing this?"</p><p>The Mandalorian’s voice remained soft, unbothered by her intrusive question. “It’s about respect, Hala. If a Mandalorian has fallen, which seems to be the case, we are meant to put that armor to rest, or give it to the next of kin. Reforge it, melt it into a new armor."</p><p>Vena nodded. That was respectable, she agreed. It meant that everyone who belonged to the Mandalorian Religion would be guaranteed a final resting spot, or a ritual send off. That was nice, to know someone would care for you, even after death. She wondered if her people had a tradition for such a thing...</p><p>"I understand,” she said, remembering she had to reply to him. "Sorry if that sounded rude. I guess I just don't fully grasp the boundaries of your Creed sometimes."</p><p>"It's alright. I like that you ask,” he admitted to her. He paused, as usual, and Vena watched him curiously as he tried to find the words he wanted to say to her. "You don't have to help with this. If you don't want to. You and the Kid can go back to the ship."</p><p>"Don't be stupid. You can't get rid of me that easy,” she said playfully, rolling her eyes. "Besides, you need me. I do a decent job of being a look out. Despite only being able to hear out of one montral, now."</p><p>His voice was firm. "That doesn't make you any less valuable, Hala."</p><p>Vena nodded, but ultimately ignored his plea to make her feel better. Instead, she said, “Oh, and I was going to tell you that Cobb said he’d thought we had been traveling together for a long time.”</p><p>"Is that all he said?" he asked, rather hostile, but Vena ignored it, just as she had ignored his jealousy in the past surrounding Cobb. </p><p>"He said we have an aura about us that seems like we've been friends for a long time. But I think it's just because you're nice to me. And kinda mean to everyone else."</p><p>The Mandalorian paused. "You think I'm mean?"</p><p>"Stoic,” Vena corrected. She noticed the sad tone of his voice and reached across the Child, grasping his hand. “You forget I can feel you, Din. Your feelings, your intentions. You've never come across to me the way you project yourself to others...You're a lot of things, but none of them are negatives in my eyes."</p><p>He squeezed her hand lightly. "Thank you."</p><p>"You're welcome," she whispered back. She glanced briefly at their conjoined hands, wondering if he was going to retract his hand, but when he didn't, she rested her arm across the Child and across his arm, settling to fall asleep with his hand in hers. "Goodnight, Din."</p><p>"Goodnight, Hala."</p><p>The Baby cooed between them.</p><p>Together, they mumbled, "Goodnight, Kid."</p><p>•</p><p>At first light, the Mandalorian woke. Some time with the rising suns, Vena had loosened her grip from his hand and thrown it over her eyes to block the light. She was fading in and out of sleep, trying to sleep a little longer, until the Mandalorian forced her awake as he usually did. Though he did try to let her sleep in for as long as possible. </p><p>The Child was awake next, his little yawn alerting the Mandalorian to his consciousness. The Mandalorian pushed himself up to sit; the Child mirrored him. When the Child looked over at Vena, watching her remain somewhat still sleeping, he started to reach for her, speaking quietly, but the Mandalorian shushed him softly, shaking his head when the Child turned back to look at him. </p><p>"Let's let her sleep, okay, Kid?" he said quietly. </p><p>Vena resisted the urge to smile. She probably would not fall asleep again, not really, with how bright the suns of Tatooine happened to shine through the tent. She laid peacefully, though, resting, even if she wasn't sleeping. For an unknowable amount of time, she pretended to sleep, listening to the Mandalorian whisper to the Child. It was a bit of a one way conversation, the Mandalorian just speaking, asking how the Child was doing and feeling on a new planet. The Child tried to speak, to communicate, but he was not as easily understood as he was to Vena, and Vena could feel the Child's minor frustration. He wanted to speak with the Mandalorian so badly, wanted him to understand him as easily as Vena did. But, that did not mean the Child liked him any less, in any sense. </p><p>"Listen, Kid," the Mandalorian sighed. "I...I don't know if you can understand me, not like you do with her...But. I know you must be able to feel me, like you and her can, and..." He stopped. He sighed again. "No. Nevermind. When we find another Jedi, we can ask them to heal her. Okay?"</p><p>The Child cooed again, but Vena and the Mandalorian both understood it as a product of sadness. Frustration, maybe, that the Child knew Vena would not want him to heal her. He knew of Vena's reluctance before the Mandalorian said something of it, because he had tried. Of course he had tried to heal his friend. But she declined, repeatedly, and he remembered her sadness, too, and her frustration with herself about losing her hearing. But, she had told him, she would be okay. </p><p>"We should probably get going," said the Mandalorian. "You wanna wake her up or do you want me to?" He paused again, waiting for the Child to respond. "I think you should. She probably likes your face more than the helmet." </p><p>•</p><p>Six Bantha's trekking across the Tatooine desert later, Vena, the Mandalorian, the Child, and Cobb Vanth, along with a handful of Sandpeople, arrived at a mountainside. It was a long stretch of land, with three mountains facing each other. In the shadows of two, there was a cave--the alleged home of the Krayt Dragon.</p><p>Cobb Vanth and the Mandalorian used their jetpacks to dismount the tall Bantha's, to which Vena obnoxiously rolled her eyes at. She jumped the distance, landing gently, huffing at the boys and their jetpacks. She walked past them and started to follow some of the Sandpeople as they approached the mountain adjacent to the cave. A few started to climb a steep, poorly carven path up the mountain. Vena looked up and saw the fashions of a ledge, a perch, for a better view of the cave, she assumed. </p><p>As she stood staring up at the ledge, squinting and somewhat glaring at how high up it was, she barely noticed the Mandalorian approach her. He followed her gaze and looked up at the ledge as well, glancing at the climbing Sandpeople. He looked behind him, to where Cobb was approaching. His sigh was audible and absolutely not friendly. </p><p>"Need a lift?" asked Cobb, noticing Vena's intense stare. He smirked, as usual, when he looked at her. "Pretty lady like yourself shouldn't have to do any dirty work."</p><p>The Mandalorian stood taller. "I can take her."</p><p>"Well," said Cobb, raising his hands in surrender. "You've got the Kid, so. Figured that might be a bit much for you."</p><p>"I manage."</p><p>"You know," said Vena loudly, over them. "I think I can make it up there myself, actually, boys, thanks."</p><p>Vena ignored the both of them and their incredulous looks. Or, in Mando's case, the quick turn of his helmet. She ran forward towards the mountain and leapt into the air, throwing her hands down at the ground, launching her knees up, combing both her naturalistic athletics with the force of her power. She soared through the air, towards the mountain, then her hands slapped onto the edge of the cliff, not quite making it, but close enough. She dug the tip of her boots into the rock side, which was jagged enough to have somewhat of an arrangement of ledges to do so, then she pulled herself up. She laughed a bit as she landed on her bottom, surprised with the control of her ability, as she wiped the sand particles from her hands. </p><p>Not long after, Cobb and the Mandalorian set down on either side of her. Both of them held out hands to help her up. She obliged. </p><p>"Aren't you something special?" asked Cobb, grinning. </p><p>Vena shook her head. "Togruta's are very athletic beings," she said slyly, resting her hands on her hips. "Might be a little rusty, but it's in my blood."</p><p>"Togruta, huh...Can't say I've met one before. But you sure are settin' the bar high, Miss Vena," said Cobb. </p><p>She smiled. "Can't say I've met anyone from Mos Pelgo. Could say the same about you." </p><p>The Mandalorian cleared his throat. Both Cobb and Vena looked over in his direction as he did so, forwardly, obviously wanting to draw attention to himself, even though he did not turn his helmet their way or made any indication as to why he subtly interrupted their conversation.</p><p>Vena huffed and crouched down. She concentrated, her hand on the mountainside, pushing the reach of her power across the landscape, towards the other mountains, into the darkness of the cave. If she closed her eyes, she could see the creature's shape. See the slight vibrations of the sand as it inhaled and exhaled. The Krayt Dragon was asleep. </p><p>The Sandpeople approached behind them. They crouched, too, close to Vena, which forced the Mandalorian and Cobb down to their knees. They spoke quietly to the Mandalorian, back and forth. One of the Raiders withdrew a pair of macrobinoculars, holding them up to their face, before settling in on the cave, then passing them down the line, each guiding one another on where to look. Vena waited for the Mandalorian to look through them before she returned her gaze to the dark cave, seeing what the macrobinoculars and even Mando's helmet could not. </p><p>"They say it lives in there," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>"It's sleeping," mumbled Vena. </p><p>"It lives in an abandoned Sarlacc Pit," he continued. </p><p>Cobb glanced at him with extreme disbelief. "Lived on Tatooine my whole life. There's no such thing as an abandoned Sarlacc Pit."</p><p>"There is if you eat the Sarlacc." </p><p>There was a silence between the two of them, a thoughtful, yet somewhat doubtful silence, as the possibility was considered. Vena, who had never seen or heard of a Sarlacc, could only let her imagination create what a Sarlacc pit was, if the Krayt Dragon was a possible predator of the creature. It seemed, on Tatooine, there was always a bigger creature. </p><p>Cobb looked over at Vena curiously. "Vena, can you feel it?"</p><p>"Breathing, yes," said Vena. "It has no idea we're here, if that's your worry. Even with our small numbers, we're too small to detect this far away." </p><p>The Mandalorian hummed. "Unless you walk right up to it."</p><p>Vena's head snapped to the Mandalorian, whose helmet was ahead, and when her eyes followed, she saw a Tusken Raider leading a Bantha into the shadow of the cave. The Bantha's footsteps were certainly strong enough to alert the Krayt Dragon. It would wake, it would smell, it would--</p><p>"Get them out of there," she said quickly, turning and grabbing the Mandalorian's arm. "The Dragon is huge, they'll never outrun--"</p><p>He laid a hand on her arm. "They're laying out a Bantha to protect the settlement," he explained softly to her, reassuringly. "They've studied its digestion cycle for generations. They feed the Dragon to make it sleep longer." </p><p>"But--" Vena tried to protest, knowing there was little time before the Krayt Dragon sensed the Bantha, but it was too late. </p><p>The Tusken Raider shouted into the cave, assuredly waking the Dragon. At the faint sound of an awakening growl from the cave's mouth, the Tusken Raider dropped the reigns of the Bantha and started to sprint out of reach of the Dragon. Vena's hand tightened on the Mandalorian's arm as she felt the stirring of the Krayt Dragon, its awakening shiver, felt it start to move through the sand. They only saw its mouth breach the sand, sliding smoothly across the desert, bypassing the Bantha, and chomping down on the lone Tusken Raider, before its mouth closed, and it slipped back into the cave, leaving the sand quiet and still. </p><p>The awkward and shocked pause lasted between not only Cobb, Vena, and the Mandalorian, but the Sandpeople as well. </p><p>It was the Mandalorian who spoke first: "They might be open to some fresh ideas."</p><p>•</p><p>Back to the camp, they went. The whole settlement gathered to speak and discuss the new problem: a Krayt Dragon that didn't adhere to their former conclusions about it. The Sandpeople mapped out a diagram in the center of the huddle, using some leftover bones from dinner and some pebbles. </p><p>Cobb, Vena, and the Mandalorian stood together. The Baby was between Vena's legs, his hands on her calves, swinging lightly back and forth between her legs as they watched the Sandpeople argue with each other intently. </p><p>Cobb glanced over at the Mandalorian. "What are the bones?"</p><p>"That's the Krayt Dragon," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>"And the rocks?"</p><p>"That's us."</p><p>Cobb squinted suspiciously at the diagram. "It's not to scale."</p><p>"I think it is," sighed the Mandalorian. </p><p>"Can't be. That's too big."</p><p>"It's to scale," interrupted Vena. "You've only seen its head and neck."</p><p>"What, you've seen it?" asked Cobb. </p><p>Vena nodded. "Yeah, I actually snuck out last night to have a word with it. It said you're next."</p><p>He ignored her, adding an eyeroll. He placed his hands on his hips, his eyes moving back and forth between the arguing Sandpeople. The Mandalorian jumped in a few times, saying brief, but thoughtful words, it seemed, as a growing resolution came forth. </p><p>When the Sandpeople added some more rocks, some more people, Cobb cheered lightly and nodded enthusiastically.</p><p>"That's more like it. Where are they getting the reinforcements?" he asked. </p><p>"I volunteered your village," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>"You did what?" asked Cobb, as Vena slapped the Mandalorian's arm lightly, muttering, "You can't just volunteer people's villages!" </p><p>"Well, I did, so we better get going to tell them," he said finally. </p><p>As the Mandalorian started to walk away, towards the speeder bike, Vena grabbed the Child from the ground and swept him into her arms. She hustled after Cobb as he rushed after the Mandalorian, fuming. </p><p>"They attacked us less than a year ago," he snapped. "Killed half a dozen of us by the mining camp. I can't just ask my people to join forces with the Raiders that slaughtered our people."</p><p>The Mandalorian approached the speeder, shrugging as he climbed on. "The town respects you. My guess is they'll listen to reason."</p><p>"You haven't even told us the plan," said Vena, carefully looking between the two of them. She stopped on the Mandalorian, shaking her head, truly confused to his shortness on the subject. "We get Cobb's village to join the fight, and then what?"</p><p>"Then we take out the Krayt Dragon." </p><p>"And if they don't join?" challenged Cobb. </p><p>"They trust you," sighed the Mandalorian. "I have a feeling they'll follow you." </p><p>Cobb grumbled as he mounted his speeder. "I don't trust very much in feelings, Mandalorian." </p><p>Vena sighed and set the Child in his pouch on the back of their speeder. She met the Mandalorian's gaze, briefly, shortly, unhappy with his offering to the Sandpeople. She sat behind him on the speeder and wrapped her arms around his waist. Before she was settled completely, Cobb accelerated, cruising by them and back to his small town. He wanted distance from them, probably, and Vena couldn't exactly blame him. The Mandalorian hadn't been very kind to him. </p><p>"Do you?" asked the Mandalorian. </p><p>"Do I what?" sighed Vena. </p><p>"Trust in the village?" </p><p>"What choice do they have, Din?" she asked quietly. "That's my problem. You didn't give them a choice to volunteer." </p><p>He was quiet. "You said it yourself. They don't have a choice. Join forces or die." </p><p>"Even so," she sighed. "I understand, I do. But people need to see that through themselves, sometimes. Not just take the word of some random Mandalorian."</p><p>To her words, he said nothing more. It was clear to her she had encouraged thought, as they sped across the sand, but he said nothing more on the subject. </p><p>By the time the Mandalorian and Vena caught up to Cobb Vanth at the Cantina, all of the older inhabitants of the village were in attendance. Vena entered first, the Child in one arm, the Mandalorian behind her. When she felt their eyes snap to her, she flushed a bit, nervous to be at the center of attention, but she joined Cobb at the bar, at the front, facing the worried looking villagers. </p><p>"This here is a Mandalorian," said Cobb, silencing the hushed whispers through the crowd, now that their main focus had arrived. He projected his voice across the Cantina, sound smooth and even, hiding his frustration about the situation well, despite all odds. "Do you know what that means?"</p><p>Someone spoke from within the crowd: "We've heard the stories."</p><p>"Then you know how good they are at killing," said Cobb; his ultimate point. "Now, this one's got a problem. I got a suit of salvaged armor and the Mandalorian Creed says its his to take. But, I've got a problem, too. A Krayt Dragon has been peeling off our pack animals, and sometimes, taking our mining haul with it. It's just a matter of time before it grows tired of Bantha's and goes after a couple of you townsfolk, or even, so help us, the school."</p><p>Panicked whispers broke out among the crowd, fear, worry rushed over them. </p><p>Cobb was quick to continue before their worry became too much. "As much as I've grown fond of the armor, I'm even more fond of this town. The Mandalorian and his friend are willing to help us slay the leviathan in exchange for returning the armor to its ancestral owners."</p><p>Another voice agreed: "Well, that settles it."</p><p>"There's more," said Cobb immediately. He paused, fumbling, preparing himself for the reaction, but with an encouraging nod from Vena, he said, "We can't take on the Krayt alone. And the Sandpeople are willing to help."</p><p>The gathered people gasped, disagreed, some shouted and stood from their seats. Cobb allowed them to become rowdy, looking over at the Mandalorian and Vena, as to he was not surprised the people reacted such a way. </p><p>The Mandalorian turned his helmet to Vena. She shook her head, stepping backwards, offering him crowd control, because the situation was his mess. She could feel his irritation, but ultimately, he stepped forward to address the people. </p><p>"I have seen the size of that thing, like you all have," he called over the people, forcing them back to their seats, to quiet down. "It will swallow your entire town when the fancy hits it. You're lucky Mos Pelgo isn't a sand field already. I know these people. They are brutal. But so is the Dune Sea. They have survived for thousands of years in these sands and they know the Krayt Dragon better than anyone here. They are Raiders, its true, but they also keep their word. We've struck a deal. If we are willing to leave them the carcass and its ichor, they will stand by our side in battle and vow never to raise a blaster against this town until one of you breaks the peace."</p><p>The people agreed. With the Mandalorian's words and with Cobb's support, one by one, the people of Mos Pelgo agreed to join with the Sandpeople and put aside their differences to defeat the Krayt Dragon before irreversible damage was done. </p><p>The villagers started to gather their weapons and explosives to help the Sandpeople's haul. </p><p>Vena and the Mandalorian stood on the porch outside of the Cantina, observing from a distance. The Child was at their feet, sitting nicely on his bottom, with a large cup of water at his hands. The Mandalorian stood close to her, their outstretched hands touching at their pinkies as they both lightly clenched the railing. Vena nudged her elbow into his arm to draw her attention. </p><p>"That was better than your Sorgan speech, for the record," she said quietly, chuckling. "I'll pretend like the upgrade was to do with being around me."</p><p>"Maybe you've taught me how to speak better to people," he agreed. </p><p>"Hopefully. You needed it." </p><p>She imagined he rolled his eyes under the helmet. Sometimes in the way he subtly moved his helmet, she could imagine what his face looked like underneath. He wasn't emotive, almost at all, but when it was just them, or them and the Child, sometimes, if she tried, she could almost see through his helmet. She smiled up at him and ducked her head over briefly, laying her head briskly on his shoulder affectionately and somewhat proudly. </p><p>The Sandpeople strolled in on their Bantha's not long after the village gathered their weapons. The people of Mos Pelgo came to a stop, staring at the incoming people, both parties tense and cautious of the other, entirely more so than the situation at hand. Vena watched Cobb approach the Sandpeople and she ushered the Mandalorian after him to help translate. Soon, the Sandpeople and the villagers were working together to load explosives onto the carriers of the Bantha's. They worked in somewhat silence, neither party exactly happy to be together again, and trying to work fast, to get through it as quickly as possible. </p><p>Vena only stayed in the area for a couple minutes before she began to get restless. She started to fidget, shifting her weight from foot to foot, messing with the sleeve of her shirt, playing with the band at the forefront of her montrals. She was so obviously uncomfortable the Mandalorian noticed and turned to her, seemingly presenting a questionable feeling, because he said nothing to her before she rushed out that she was feeling overwhelmed. </p><p>"About what?"</p><p>"All of them, the Sandpeople and the Townspeople alike, just are so outward with their fear of each other. Their dislike. Bit draining to feel all that."</p><p>The Mandalorian turned to face her. He blocked her eye line from the villagers and the Sandpeople, standing tall, focusing on her so she would do the same. She bent at her waist, her elbows on the ledge, dropping her head between her arms. </p><p>"Well, what am I feeling?" he asked her quietly </p><p>"What?" she asked, raising her head to face him. Her brow was together.</p><p>"Focus on me,” he offered. </p><p>"You know I try not to," declined Vena.</p><p>"Well, do,” he said. He reached forward and took her hand. A gesture, if nothing else, to show that he was serious. <br/>
<br/>
Vena closed her eyes. “Calm,” she noted, breathing in and out slowly. “Cautious...Jealous.” She peaked open one of her eyes to look at him before she quickly closed it. </p><p>"Stop," he said, sighing. He flushed underneath his helmet, forgetting that when he told her to focus, she truly could feel what he did, no matter how hard he tried to force that feeling down. </p><p>"You jealous someone else offered to give me a lift?" she asked playfully. </p><p>"Vena,” he said. </p><p>"Okay, okay,” she said, shaking her head, settling the smile on her lips. </p><p>"Don't focus on them. Just me."</p><p>"You’re sure?" she clarified. </p><p>"I don't mind."</p><p>"Alright."</p><p>So, she stopped her extension at him. She stayed caught between their feelings, exploring his caution over the approaching conflict, ignoring his jealousy—noticing how hard he tried to cover it—over Cobb, noticing his feelings towards her. The general admiration, liking towards her. She wanted to ignore it and not listen to it or feel it. He wouldn’t want her to, she thought, but the more he projected it to her, consciously, the more she felt her brow furrow. Was he wanting her to notice? Now? Of all places? </p><p>”Din,” she whispered, opening her eyes. “What are you feeling right now?”</p><p>He took a breath. “Hala, I—“</p><p>“Lovebirds!” shouted Cobb. The Mandalorian and Vena broke apart, their heads whipping across the courtyard to where he was standing. “We’re rolling out!”</p><p>“Later,” said Vena, addressing his interruption. She was somewhat glad someone had interrupted them. She didn’t know if she wanted to face what he was potentially going to admit to her. “We can talk later.” </p><p>She scooped the Child up from the ground, leaving his cup discarded on the bench. She hurried to the speeder, settling in the Child, before she jumped on it and met the Mandalorian at the Cantina for him to sit behind her. She followed beside Cobb Vanth as he rode his own speeder alongside the head Bantha.</p><p>The Sandpeople walked behind one another, in a straight line, in the tracks of the Bantha’s. Curious, Vena thought. Another thing she would have to add to her journal later. She'd been on Tatooine for a few years but never outside of Mos Eisley. She had never met Sandpeople, or the Masiff’s, or seen a Bantha before. The only creature she had encountered was the infamous Womprats, whom were capitalized upon for being target practice, by a lot of her former customers. She'd certainly seen more than she bargained for, on her return to Tatooine. </p><p>At the Krayt Dragon's cave, the people of Mos Pelgo remained wary, staying back, even though they were at minimum a mile away from the entrance of the cave. Vena could not blame them for being cautious, especially at the alarming rate the Krayt Dragon did close on distances solely because of its size.</p><p>A Tusken Raider started to signal, to hush, to be quiet. Their small crowd of people quieted down. </p><p><br/>
“What is he doing?” asked Vena softly, leaning back against the Mandalorian’s chest to whisper.</p><p>”He’s going to see if the Dragon is awake or not.”</p><p>Vena sat up. There was no reason for someone to go out there, not if she could feel it, from a safer distance. She quickly threw herself from the speeder, despite the Mandalorian’s quick hands trying to grab her, and sprinted softly across the sand to the Tusken Raider. She shook her head as he stopped in place, his feelings confused, worried.</p><p>”Uh, um,” Vena struggled, suddenly remembering she didn’t know how to speak to him. She shook her head again and pointed towards the cave, then herself, then gestured him back to the crowd of confused onlookers. <br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Go, it’s okay,” she said slowly. “I’ll handle it.”</p><p>He remained still, confused beyond belief, at this random woman trying to stop him. He remained in place long enough that Vena assumed he understood her and she turned, walking softly across the sand towards the cave. </p><p>She didn’t have to approach very closely. She stopped somewhere halfway between their crowd and where the cave entrance started. She squatted, placing her hand on the sand, closing her eyes, and breathing. She reached out with her feelings, with her montral, listening and seeing and seeking where the Krayt Dragon was exactly in the sand and what state it was in. When she had her answer, she stood and hurried back to the awaiting crowd. <br/>
<br/>
“The Dragon is sleeping,” she announced to the crowd. “If you are all quiet, it will remain that way until we are ready to wake it. So whisper, walk lightly. If we all do that, it’ll stay sleeping.”</p><p>"You think it’s a heavy sleeper?” asked Cobb.</p><p>”We should hope so,” said Vena lightly. <br/>
<br/>
The Mandalorian joined them at the forefront of the crowd. He addressed them as well: "The belly is the only weak spot, so we have to hit it from below. First, we bury the charges at the opening of the cave. Then, we wake it up.”</p><p>”We have to get it angry enough to charge,” suggested Vena.</p><p>“Once it's far enough out and the belly is above the explosives, the Marshal hits the detonator,” finished the Mandalorian. </p><p>Vena looked across the crowd, where the people were nodding and quietly agreeing. She offered a kind, hopeful smile to them all.</p><p>“Then let’s get started,” she encouraged. </p><p>The Townspeople began to unload the weapons from the Bantha’s, the ballistae, the bombs; the Sandpeople worked to position their weapons towards the cave entrance. Some people broke off to dig ditches in the sand outside of the cave, burying some of the explosives. </p><p>The Mandalorian, Cobb, and Vena stood behind the working people, observing and managing their work. Vena remained close to the ground, sitting on her knees, her hand loosely playing with the sand, wanting to remain vigilant to the sleeping Dragon. </p><p>A girl came forward to them with the detonator, once the bombs were in the sand.</p><p>"Careful, Marshall,” she encouraged. </p><p>"Thank you, Jo. Stay safe, hun,” said Cobb with a smile. He turned to the Mandalorian and Vena. “Guess that means we’re in business.” </p><p>The Sandpeople stood ready at their ballistae. The villagers were spread between, all holding handheld explosives, blasters, whatever sort of long-range weapon was available in their small town. <br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Vena tried to ignore the fear exuding from the crowd. She looked up, at the Mandalorian, her eyes bleeding with worry and fatigue from feeling the feelings of the others. She didn’t have to say anything to him for him to bend down next to her, his hand outstretched to her. She placed her hand in his, closing her eyes to breathe and to refocus her mind on her own feelings, Din’s, Cobb’s, the Child’s. </p><p>Her eyes shot open. The Child. She looked around them for his little green figure until the Mandalorian figured out who she was looking for and he pointed to the speeder, where the Child was sitting comfortably in his bag on the back of the speeder. He hadn’t wanted to come out, it seemed. Maybe he could feel the Krayt Dragon, too. <br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Probably better he stays back with us,” said the Mandalorian.</p><p>Vena frowned. “What? This far back? But the villagers and the Sandpeople—“</p><p>”—are doing their job,” he interrupted pointedly. “We don’t have to do much. The Marshal pushes the button and it’s over.”</p><p>”I have a feeling it won’t be as easy as that, Mando,” said Vena worriedly. “We have to help them, we can’t just sit back here and—“</p><p>She stopped when she heard screaming. Both of their heads whipped to the forefront, the cave, where three Tusken Raiders were screaming into the cave to force the Krayt Dragon awake.</p><p>Vena scrambled to her feet. She wanted to run forward, to the Sandpeople and the villagers, for no other reason than to be nearby to help, but the Mandalorian grabbed her by the wrist, keeping her in place.</p><p>”Vena,” he said sternly.</p><p>”I—“ she tried to argue, but again, a noise interrupted her, an awakening growl from the Krayt Dragon.</p><p>The sand at the entrance of the cave started to shake and slide. The Sandpeople sprinted at the first sight of the Krayt Dragon’s nose exiting from the sand. Its nose entered the air, then its head, its mouth sprung open with a roar that echoed between the mountains. Its cry was stopped short when the Sandpeople shot their spears into its head, its neck, shutting down the roar from the Dragon and turning it into pained groans as more and more spears were shot into its skin, digging and tugging further down as it struggled to escape. </p><p>The Krayt Dragon noticed one of the Tusken Raiders had fallen. With another roar, it dove down from the air, slamming its open mouth into the sand, over the fallen Sandperson, then started to slide backwards back into the sand and back into the cave. The Sandpeople hurried to grab the ropes attached to the Krayt Dragon, trying to create resistance, to maintain the Dragon to inch forward. </p><p>"Dank ferrik, its going back in," snapped the Mandalorian.</p><p>The Sandpeople never stood a chance pulling the rope. They were being dragged across the sand with the Dragon as it receded, the townspeople started to desperately shoot at it, throw explosives, but still, the Krayt Dragon was disappearing inch by inch back into the cave.</p><p>”Let me go,” said Vena quickly, trying to tug her arm out of the grasp of the Mandalorian.</p><p>”What could you do?” he snapped at her. </p><p>He wasn’t exactly wrong. But Vena couldn’t just watch these people struggle for nothing. They didn’t come there to fail, to give up. The Mandalorian needed that armor for their journey to continue, they needed to slay the Krayt Dragon, but it was barely about them. It was about the townspeople, the Sandpeople. They deserved peace. What Vena could do to bring peace to their lives, she was going to try.</p><p>”I can do something other than stand here,” she told him, hitting his hand away from her. </p><p>"I'm going to hit it," said Cobb hurriedly.</p><p>"No,” said the Mandalorian, but it wasn’t clear whether it was to Cobb or to Vena. He huffed and held out a hand at Vena, directing her to stay, but he turned to Cobb. “No, wait, we only have one shot. We have to get it out."</p><p>They turned to look at the scene again, hoping it had changed in the quick seconds Vena and the Mandalorian were arguing— it hadn’t. Explosives were still being thrown at it, more harpoons shot into it, blasters, anything and everything in hand was thrown or shot at the Dragon. It had stopped retreating, but maintained its position only somewhat out of the cave, and not far enough over the planted explosions.</p><p>"Now?" asked Cobb.</p><p>"It has to come out fruther," said the Mandalorian. <br/>
<br/>
The consistent explosives against its skin, the stuck harpoons, it was working, once the Sandpeople started to tug and pull at the harpoons. It hadn’t succeeded in steering the Krayt Dragon anywhere, but it was in pain, it was angry. The Dragon whipped its head quickly, without warning, and the grip on the rope sent a cluster of Sandpeople into the air. </p><p>The Dragon started screeched and roaring, Vena felt the vibrations of a rumbling underneath the sand, a movement, inside of the Dragon. She didn’t understand what it was, she turned her good montral towards the Dragon, unsure if it was moving or if it was just explosions. She screamed for them to move back, get out of the way, shuffling forward cautiously as she yelled for them to move. Vena skidded to a stop against the sand as green bile spewed from the Dragon’s open mouth, flicking and flying forward and covering some of the straggling Sandpeople. It disintegrated them entirely, if enough touched them, but for some unluckily stragglers, they were left with acid burn and decaying flesh. </p><p>Vena whipped back around to the sound of the Mandalorian shouting, “Now!” She gasped as the ground in front of her exploded, the planted explosives being detonated. The people running past her to retreat, the injured limping back had fallen to the sand or had frozen, everyone’s eyes searching wildly in the cloud of sand, waiting for the Dragon to appear or for the sand to move.</p><p>"Vena?!" called Cobb worriedly.</p><p>Vena didn’t have to do much other than feel the fast vibrations under her feet to know they hadn’t succeeded. They hadn’t done much more than spook the Dragon, irritate it, by the sense of rage it was feeling, and the subduing pain.</p><p>"It's still alive," said Vena, falling to the sand. She put her hands on the ground, too, leaning her right montral close to the sand, listening, feeling, seeing the slither of the Dragon underneath the sand, then, as she located it’s trajectory, her hand shot into the air. "It's in the mountain! The mountain! RUN!"</p><p>Even with the few second warning, people could only run so fast. They’d spread out far, perhaps too far, and it was a mistake in every sense. As the Krayt Dragon broke through the top of the mountain with its big, hard head, it exited with a roar and with another projectile vomit that spewed from a higher point of access, having a larger impact radius. </p><p>"It's picking us off like womp rats," snapped Cobb. "Lets get after it."</p><p>Cobb ran for his speeder, picking up his rifle in one hand and his helmet in the other. He slid the helmet over his head, pausing, waiting as the Mandalorian turned quickly to grab his rifle, too.</p><p>“Stay here, Hala,” he said sternly, seriously, before he joined Cobb’s place and they both lifted off into the sky.  </p><p>Vena did not listen to him. She rushed forward to the injured stragglers, the townspeople and the Sandpeople, helping them along and rushing them away from the mountainside. She kept glancing behind her at the mountain, watching Cobb and the Mandalorian fire at the Krayt Dragon’s eye to irritate it and to turn it towards them. When it did, the Dragon took a chomp out of the mountain, but the two had jumped from the mountainside, flying and landing back on the ground. They were still shooting at the Dragon. </p><p>"There’s people down here,” snapped Vena. She glanced around, noting there was a great divide between the Dragon and most of their people, but it wouldn’t matter, if they attracted it back to the ground. “What’s your plan here, Mando?”</p><p>"Where is it?!" he snapped.</p><p>Vena looked to the mountain, where the Krayt Dragon was no longer seeable. She didn’t have to feel the sand to hear the movement— she pointed behind him as the Dragon surfaced, only its mouth seeable, moving briskly forward as it stalked some fleeing people. The Mandalorian turned, facing the Krayt Dragon. Vena couldn't push them out of the way, it would be too obvious of a risk, too close, but she could do something other than watch. </p><p>She rushed into a sprint and jumped, throwing her body through the air. She put her hands down as the ground underneath her approached and she tucked and rolled to soften her landing before she popped up quickly and started to push the Sandpeople out of the way, to relative safety, where the Krayt Dragon wouldn't have time to change direction. She picked up a fallen villager who had been touched by the acid on his leg, screaming and howling, and pushed him off to the hands of a Tusken Raider. She hurried them and rushed them, she looked briskly to her side, where she saw and felt the Krayt Dragon mere feet away from her and she pushed herself into the air again, throwing herself backwards, panicked and not thinking so much into her direction. She hit the mountainside on her backside, knocking her head slightly against the rock from the force she accidentally threw herself with. She slid down the jagged wall and sank to the floor, rubbing her head, sighing and trying to ignore the pounding at the back of her head. </p><p>She couldn't see the targets of the Krayt Dragon. She was behind it, now, its large frame taking up most of the view from the ground level. She flinched and moved to cover her head when a rocket exploded against the Krayt Dragon's eye, inducing a screech, and changing the direction it had been heading it. With its change, Vena was able to see its new target, and she was immediately set into panic mode. Vena scurried to her feet, tripping and scratching against the sand to run towards him, too, following the Krayt Dragon. </p><p>"Mando!" she all but screamed, high-pitch, terrified.</p><p>She was running alongside the Krayt Dragon, using what little speed from her powers she could muster to close the long gap between them. Why wasn't he using his jetpack to move? Why was Cobb just standing there? As if he had noticed Cobb too, the minute Vena thought about the Marshal, the Mandalorian slammed the butt of his rifle into the back of Cobb's jetpack, malfunctioning it, shooting Cobb up into the air and away from the approaching Krayt Dragon. </p><p>"Move your ass!" she screeched at him. </p><p>She had to risk it. He was just standing there, doing nothing, watching the Krayt Dragon approach him, his body still--Vena could not believe him. What was going through his mind?! She had no choice other than to admit to him she was a Jedi with Jedi powers and yes, she did risk people knowing and him knowing, because he was stupid and didn't move when a thousand pound sand creature was barreling towards him! She didn't know if she would beat him up first or yell at him! </p><p>She watched him turn, grab the rope attached to the Bantha behind him. It was then, when he was holding on steadily to the Bantha, that his helmet whipped to find her, like he had known where her placement was just by a feeling. He looked at her, just her, ignoring the Krayt Dragon approaching him entirely. And as Vena raised her hand toward him to risk it all, to admit to him she was a Jedi, to use her power to launch him out of the way, a body knocked into her own, throwing her to the ground. Vena rolled herself over, not bothered with what hit her, preoccupied, but by the time her head was raised, only dust remained, where the Mandalorian once stood. </p><p>Vena had never before screamed like she did in that moment. She wailed, crawling to the point where he had been eaten by the Krayt Dragon, shoving her hands on the sand, gripping it, squeezing it, her knuckles pale and her throat scratchy within moments. It was silent, in the mountain range, excluding her frightening screams. She had no sense of blocking out the others feelings, she could feel their fear of her as she clawed through the sand helplessly, as if that would bring him back. She noticed Cobb, assumed he was the one who crashed into her, but she said nothing to him as he slowly and carefully approached her, trying to grab her in a hug, help her, but the feeling of his hands on her shoulders sent her senses into overdrive and she screamed again upon his touch. Her powers blew him back and away from her without much of a thought. </p><p>Then, the ground started to rumble. Vena inhaled a serious of quick deep breaths, forcing air into her lungs, as she pushed herself up to her feet and started to shuffle quickly through the sand, away from the area where she could feel something surfacing. She cared about none of it, in that moment. If the Krayt Dragon surfaced, if it survived and took the Mandalorian from her for nothing, she had a wrath inside of her battling against her chest, punching against her bones, wishing to escape and wreak havoc, and she planned to take on the Dragon herself. No matter the cost. </p><p>But she didn't have to. She watched the Krayt Dragon surface with another roar, but upon entrance from the sand, its mouth opened, showcasing a blue electric charge bouncing between its teeth, and a little speck with a jetpack exiting through its open mouth. There was a fast beeping she heard, for mere seconds, then she was forced to turn and cover her head as the stomach of the Krayt Dragon exploded, sending chunks of its body through the air, and the Dragon to fall dead on the Tatooine sand. </p><p>Vena could not join the villagers and the Sandpeople as they cheered and celebrated. There was a victory there: the Krayt Dragon was dead, the Mandalorian was alive, the majority of their people survived. But her heart was still heavy. It didn't matter how brief she lived in the false reality of the Mandalorian being dead--she lived it. And it was enough for her to have seen red, to lose her ability to think, to feel such rage and hatred in her heart, more than she ever felt on her entirety of being alive. It terrified her and intrigued her at once, but in the moment, Vena had no clue how to feel. </p><p>The Mandalorian touched down in front of her. Her face was blank. Her eyes fell over his body, the green slime that coated his silver armor, his awkward stance, his clearly felt adrenaline dying down the longer she just stared at him and said absolutely nothing. Slowly, over the course of a few minutes, her brow came together, angrily, as she stared at the black visor of his helmet and tried to gather thoughts into her head and form them into cohesive sentences. Or maybe they wouldn't be cohesive. She didn't think too much. </p><p>"What in Maker's name is wrong with you?" she whispered. He said nothing, but she also didn't give him much time to say much before she continued, her voice low, shaky, cracking with every other word. "You didn't even move. You watched a massive creature book it for you and you just stood there and looked at me. What do you have a jetpack for? Why didn't you move out of the way?"</p><p>She paused, again, taking a breath. She continued to stare at him blankly, waiting for an explanation, but when he started to speak, so did she.</p><p>"It worked—"</p><p>"You have a literal Child, now, you can't just not be aware of your surroundings--"</p><p>"I survived—"</p><p>"What?" she breathed loudly. Her eyes were wide. "What? You <em>let</em> yourself get swallowed by the Krayt Dragon?" </p><p>Vena watched him say nothing. She thought she'd lost him and it was an accident, not that he did it on purpose. That somehow made it worse, that he willingly made the decision to leave the Baby to her, She was not upset with his decision to trust her enough to care for the Baby, they had agreed on that, but the mere minute she thought he was dead, Vena realized she didn't want to be left alone with him. She didn't want to have the Child, and not the Mandalorian with him. What started with the Child's interest in mind, for both of them, had changed so significantly with how closely the three had become. They were together almost every hour of every day, they were raising the Child together, fought together, lived together, traveled together.  There were maybe two hours a day that they didn't spend together and even though he knew more about her than she did of him, Vena could not see her immediate future without him. She was not ready to lose him from her life. And that, although it was true, broke her heart more when she thought about how willingly he was willing to leave her and the Child, in return.</p><p>"I don't care if it worked! Don't do it again!" she snapped, raising her voice for the first time their entire conversation. Her eyes were blank and bored, exhausted with the rush of emotion she'd felt in the span of five minutes. "You cannot sacrifice yourself or put yourself in those situations when you have a Child. Avoidable situations, avoidable danger. You cannot leave him alone in this world."</p><p>The Mandalorian whispered, too. "He has you, Hala."</p><p>"I'm not enough," she said instantly. </p><p>"I wouldn't have done so if I didn't believe you weren't capable of finishing my mission."</p><p>"I can't complete your mission without you."</p><p>He didn't say anything to that. He didn't have much to say. She was heartbroken, standing in front of him, with how carelessly she thought he threw his life away. As if he hadn't made that risk because he believed in her to care for the Child, to be okay, to save the rest of the villagers and the Sandpeople, if his sacrifice hadn't worked. But, he knew, she wasn't thinking that far. She was thinking about him. About losing him. To that, if it was true that her primary source of sadness was from the thought of losing him, he couldn't find the words to say. </p><p>Vena turned and walked away from him. There was no goodbye words, no nods, no smiles, nothing from either of them. Vena left him standing there alone and walked back across the landscape and to the speeder, to the Child.</p><p>As soon as Vena was in his eyesight, he was reaching for her. She grabbed him and they held on tightly to each other, because he understood that she needed it. He hadn't seen the action, he was purposely left far away from the danger, but he could feel Vena, probably see her thoughts as she kept playing those few seconds over and over in her head. The Child held onto her quietly. </p><p>Instead of help, which she would have done, Vena sat on the Speeder with the Child for a number of hours. They watched, from a far distance, the Tusken Raiders start to tear apart the carcass of the Krayt Dragon. They watched the villagers of Mos Pelgo tend to the wounds of both their people and the Sandpeople alike. The people were talking and laughing, celebrating, their lives free of worry for the time being. They were all at ease, now. </p><p>Vena noticed the Marshall and the Mandalorian start walking towards the speeder. It would take them a bit to cross that distance, and she tried to avert her eyes, to not notice as much that they were approaching her, but she did very poorly with it. The Mandalorian was carrying a cloth covered cut of Dragon meat in his arms. He and Vena avoided eye contact as they came to the Speeder. He settled the meat on the back of the bike, out of her view, and the Marshall followed to stand with him and out of Vena's sight, but not out of her ear reach. </p><p>"This was well earned," said Cobb. </p><p>There was a clinking noise as he set the armor on the back of the speeder, too. </p><p>"It was my pleasure," said the Mandalorian. </p><p>She watched them shake hands from the corner of her eye. When she noticed Cobb drop the Mandalorian's hand, she turned her eyes ahead of her, before his hand entered her vision. She set the Child on her lap and reached across him to shake his hand, forcing a smile on her lips. </p><p>"Thank you, Miss Vena, for your trusty ears," said Cobb honestly. He kept her hand in his own as he shuffled closer, bringing their joined hands to his chest, and sliding an arm around her back in a hug. His lips hovered by her ear. "Really hope you figure things out with this guy," he muttered, then pressed a small kiss to her cheek. He distanced himself from her and winked as she stared at him, wide eyed, but he ignored it. </p><p>"I hope our paths cross again," he said, walking backwards and away from them. "And you tell your people I wasn't the one that broke that!" he finished cheekily, before he waved at them one last time, then started to return to his people. </p><p>Vena and the Mandalorian sat in silence, watching the Marshall walk, the tense silence eating away at both of them. But Vena surely wasn't going to speak first, after she was the one who left him in silence. She would sit there for the night, if she had to, waiting for him to find the words. She'd said all she wanted to. All she could think of. Whatever he wanted to say, if anything, she was going to wait for. </p><p>Fortunately, he knew that. "Hala," he said shortly, alerting her to the fact that he was going to talk. Still, although she hummed in acknowledgement, they both remained side by side, their eyes on Cobb walking, the villagers, the body of the Dragon, but not each other. </p><p>"I saw dozens of innocent people trying to protect their livelihood about to get eaten. I knew I could do something about it, same as you believed you could. My Beskar is the safest protection I have. It's why I wear it. I had a quick thought, I wanted to save those people, and I did it, because it's not fair for me to wear this armor and not protect those who need it when I have the ability to," he said slowly, painfully slowly, as he found the words and presented them to her listening montral. "I asked you to leave Sorgan for me and the Kid because I trust you to protect him. Now, after the time we've spent together, I trust you to finish the mission for me, if I can't."</p><p>"I don't blame you for helping them. I threw myself into it, too," she said immediately, understanding his drive for helping, his innate need to care for people, even if he didn't recognize that as a trait of his, or if he tried to fight it. He was a good man, afterall. "I...I just didn't realize how much I care."</p><p>"About me," he mumbled shyly. </p><p>"About you," she confirmed quietly. They looked at each other, briefly, before their eyes left each other again. "Losing you is a reality. One I hadn't really been forced to face again yet, after we've been traveling together for a while. I know it's only been four months, five, but I don't think I'm ready to lose what you bring to my life. You have changed it, because you're my friend. I haven't had very many friends in my life and you are a good friend, a good man. For the first time in my life, I'm <em>living, </em>with you, not just surviving. With you and the Kid, I feel like my life is being lived and not just survived."</p><p>The Mandalorian just whispered her name sadly. She could feel his remorse. He hadn't thought about what the potential of losing him would do to her and the Kid, really, because he thought they would be fine without him. It seemed that way, sometimes. But that wasn't true. He wasn't only transportation for them. The Child and Vena needed him, beyond what they needed, they wanted him around because he was worth something to them that wasn't a deal or a negotiation. He was him. He'd had a duty to the Kid, to bring him to his people, but now, the Mandalorian realized, he had a duty to Vena, too. </p><p>Cobb Vanth had told him what happened when the Krayt Dragon swallowed him; Vena's wailing, her screaming, her anger. He mentioned some great force throwing him away from her. But the Mandalorian knew what it was, though he pretended it was strange and he knew nothing. It was more truth to his belief that Vena was like the Kid; there wasn't a coincidence that when their emotions flared, strange things occurred. But his proof that Vena and the Child were of the same family, in some sense, meant little to him. He was worried about Vena. About himself. About the territory they were falling into, inch by inch, everyday, a territory that he'd never gone to before. They weren't just traveling together, they weren't doing so for the sake of the Kid. Sooner or later, he would have to face what could come with admitting they weren't just friends anymore. </p><p>The Mandalorian gained the courage to turn his visor and face her. "I won't do that again," he promised her gently.</p><p>Vena's chin tilted up at him. "Okay," she mumbled.</p><p>He didn't know if he believed her, or if she believed that he was truthful to his word. He inhaled a short breath to speak, wanting to let his mouth just speak instead of think about it, but when nothing exited, he closed his mouth. He ran through some phrases he could say to make her feel better and to reciprocate her clear feelings for him, but when they all sounded strange coming from him, or tacky, and he couldn't think of something, he realized how much time had passed that he sat there and stared at her, trying to come up with some words to tell her that he liked her company, too, she was growing important to him, too, that it was just passed. The moment passed.</p><p>Instead, he held out his hand and helped her to her feet, then he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She froze a little, probably shocked, but she wrapped her arms around his waist and tilted her head into his chest. It wasn't the softest hug, but it was something he could do, and she appreciated it.</p><p>"Alright," she said, releasing him and shoving him playfully away from her and the Child. She nodded to the speeder. "You can drive back. I cried and now my eyes are all puffy and I'll probably crash us."</p><p>"Alright, Hal," he smiled.</p><p>She rolled her eyes. "Nickname for a nickname, hm? We went from Hala Havena to Vena to Hala to Hal."</p><p>He sighed. Back to normal already. He mounted the speeder and waited for her arms to secure around his waist. "What do you like, then?"</p><p>"Whatever you call me," she mumbled to him. </p><p>The Mandalorian smiled. He turned the handle of the speeder, and into the sunsets they rode off into, Hala's arms around his waist, her cheek pressed against his back, the Child sitting safely in his pouch, and both of them, thinking one scary thought to both of their hearts: <em>I'm in trouble. </em></p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. The Truth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Despite how bright the suns of Tatooine were through her shut eyelids, Vena did manage to manage some sleep on their travels. Her head was against the Mandalorian’s back, her arms around his waist. She couldn’t completely let herself sleep, but she dozed off periodically, as they travelled across the flat plane.</p><p>In a short period of genuine sleep was when the danger set in. Suddenly, and out of nowhere, their speeder was launched into the air.</p><p>Vena barely had enough time to react from her abrupt wake up. She slammed against the sand, hard, smacking her head on the hot ground. She struggled to catch her breath, maybe the wind knocked out of her, but she had no clue where they were, where Mando was, where the Baby was, and she rolled over onto her stomach, trying to stand, blinking hard through her blurry vision to see where her boys were.</p><p>She saw the Baby tumble past her, rolling to a stop, no more than an arms reach away; she heard the familiar ping of blasters richocheting against the Mandalorian’s armor. </p><p>She flinched and covered her head as the speeder exploded behind them. </p><p>"Get the Child!" someone shouted—one of their attackers.</p><p>The Mandalorian was too far, wherever he was. Vena reached for her blaster first, instead of the Child. While she extended her hand out to blast the hustling attackers headed for her crying Baby, another attacker had snuck up on her. A boot stomped on her arm, eliciting a painful scream from her lips as spurs struck down into the flesh of her arm. <br/>
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With a growl, Vena grasped the other leg of the man stepping on her and yanked it, using her strength to pull his leg clean out from under him. She grabbed her blaster with her uninjured hand and shot through his chest as he sat up to face her again, before his limp body fell back to the hot sand.</p><p>Vena pushed herself up quickly, her free hand on the sand for no more than a few seconds, before she was hissing with pain. She clutched her bleeding forearm against her chest, her blaster in the other hand, but there was no one left to fight. The Mandalorian had taken care of everyone, he launched himself in front of her for protection, and that brought Vena’s eyes forward and onto the person holding the Baby with a knife to his throat. </p><p>Vena’s hand flew up immediately, her blaster aimed at his head. The Mandalorian didn’t move as her blaster appeared beside him. He didn’t draw his own weapons. He pleaded, instead. Vena covered the threatening aspect of his oncoming bargain. </p><p>"Don't hurt the Child," he begged.</p><p>Vena glanced at the Mandalorian. He was standing a bit ahead of her, he couldn’t see her. She looked at the person holding the Child. But her vision was still blurry. She’d hit her head hard, twice now, and the headache was catching up to her. She tried to maintain eye contact with the person holding the Child, knowing she could coax him into handing him over, but she couldn’t focus. She couldn’t tell if he was making eye contact with her or if his eyes were on the Mandalorian. </p><p>“You will drop the knife and return the Child to us,” said Vena, slowly, nervously. <br/>
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The man’s eyes flickered to her, but they ultimately returned to the Mandalorian. She cursed under her breath. It wouldn’t work if his eyes weren’t on hers and she couldn’t step closer, not without the Mandalorian’s suspicion rising or harm coming to the Child. </p><p>“If you harm him, there is no place you will be able to hide from me," said the Mandalorian, his tone flat, calm, but menacing all the same. He ignored Vena’s attempt at diffusing the situation. “We can strike a bargain. There's a lot of value in this wreckage. Take your pick, but leave the Child."</p><p>The man moved the knife away from the Child’s throat. He jabbed it at Vena, speaking, probably in Hutteese, because the Mandalorian told her to put her blaster down. She set it on the ground at her feet and held her hands up in the air, rolling her eyes. <br/>
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The man pointed at the Mandalorian and spoke again. The Mandalorian undid the jetpack, slowly, then set it on the ground in the middle ground between them. </p><p>"It’s yours. Take it."</p><p>The man set the Child on the ground. He ran for them, cooing softly, scared, with his arms in the air. Vena waited no longer than a few seconds before she grabbed her blaster from the ground with her powers, unknowing to the Mandalorian, and shot the man before his grubby hands could touch the Mandalorian’s jetpack. </p><p>The Child was picked up by the Mandalorian, who hugged him tightly to his chest. </p><p>"You okay?" he asked the Child softly.</p><p>He cooed, a soft and safe response, then they both looked over at Vena.</p><p>She was walking away from them. Her blaster returned back to the holster on her thigh. Her arm was clutched to her chest, still, her feet were angrily stomping through the sand.</p><p>The Mandalorian noticed she walked harder on the ground when she was upset. He could tell she was frustrated, beyond the obvious pain she was feeling from the hard fall and the cut on her arm.</p><p>She started to pick up their scattered belongings. The crash had thrown their things throughout the valley. What hadn’t been exploded in the crash, she tried to gather, one-handed, and quite unnecessarily, in his opinion.</p><p>The Mandalorian sighed softly and tried to help her, how he thought she might want. She was clearly looking for a task to distract herself, but he needed her to know he was there.</p><p>“Hal, we’re all okay,” he encouraged.</p><p>"I know," she muttered.</p><p>His eyes ran over her figure, noticing the slouch in her shoulders, the anxious tapping of her fingers touching together. He frowned. So, she didn’t want words. Fine. He wondered if he could offer a physical relief—a hug, maybe holding her hand. He was going to ask her that awkward, awkward question, but he stopped when he noticed a splotch of red bleeding through the arm of her sleeve.</p><p>"You’re bleeding," he noted quickly. He set down the Child and held out his hand for her arm.</p><p>Vena glanced down at her arm. She unzipped her jumpsuit, slipping her arm through and leaving it somewhat loose around her opposite shoulder. The Mandalorian tried to bury his anxiousness when he saw her chest, her cleavage, but because she said nothing and made no movement to cover herself—and why would she, when she was focused on stopping the bleeding, he later thought—he pretended as if she was covered. He pretended like he wasn’t heating up faster than the suns on Tattooine just seeing a glimpse of her body. </p><p>She was bleeding on the top of her arm. The imprint of the man's boots on her arm, the indents of the spurr were causing her to bleed. She took the scarf from around her neck and tied it over her arm. </p><p>In close proximity to her, he noticed her arm was dotted with healed scars. Knife marks, it seemed. Burn marks. A few, here and there, not her whole arm, but present, nonetheless. Reminders of her life growing up as a slave, he assumed. The reason she tried to wear long sleeves. <br/>
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He had the urge to comment on her scars. His body probably looked similar, he wanted to say, because of how physical his job was, and although their scars were not made in any similar way, he wanted her to know she didn’t have to hide from him. She didn’t have to hide anything, he wished to say, but at the rate he was trying not to notice her breasts, he knew he could not comment on her scars, either. </p><p>He just wanted a chance to tell her she could trust him. He had to keep looking.</p><p>"We'll get you some new clothes when we get back to Mos Eisley," he promised her quietly. </p><p>Vena sighed. She closed her eyes, squeezing them shut, before she scoffed softly and shook her head at him. She slipped her arm back into the jumpsuit, zipping it back up over her chest. She looked at the Child in his arms and asked if he was okay, he nodded, then she started towards the wreckage again.</p><p>The Child and the Mandalorian looked at each other. She was being unusually quiet. The Mandalorian made no move to help her. He found her attitude strange, as it was uncommon for her to choose silence, when she usually had a question to ask him, a comment, or the urge to reach for the baby. That was probably the longest he’d held the Baby in a long time. The Child always found a place in her arms. </p><p>"Just stupid," she muttered. Just loud enough for him to hear. “I should’ve heard them."</p><p>"You were trying to sleep,” said the Mandalorian in her defense. “I don’t—“</p><p>"Well, I shouldn't have been.”</p><p>He looked over at her, incredulous, before he shook his head and remained silent. She wasn’t ready to talk if she was going to talk nonsense. He was alright to wait. </p><p>He looped their few bags through the length of his rifle, slinging the weapon across his shoulders. He carried what of their belongings that survived the crash, the extra armor, and the chunk of Dragon meat. Vena told him she could help him, carry something, but he insisted she just carry the Baby. </p><p>She looked down at the Child in her arms. He was still frightened, and his head still caused him pain from his fall. She held him close to her chest and rocked back and forth on her feet, her hand on the back of his head. She couldn’t heal him, but she could try to make him forget the pain.</p><p>They started to walk through the valley, past the dead bodies of the men who attacked them. Vena looked over them, their weaponry, their strong builds, their traps. </p><p>"They were Bounty Hunters, weren't they?” she muttered to the Mandalorian. “For the Baby?”</p><p>”Tatooine is a Bounty Hunters Hub,” he said; neither confirming or denying. He didn’t want to make her more upset. </p><p>"So then we should be staying away from planets that are such," she said, her tone obvious. "We had to come here for your Mandalorian, yeah, but we have to do better if we’re going to these types of planets. Clearly the Kid’s tracker still works so the time on Kiros was—“</p><p>He stopped in his tracks. “Was what?” he asked her coldly.</p><p>Vena paused. Her face struggled to stay calm. She wasn’t angry, she was caught, as if she was going to say that their time on Kiros was worth nothing. She felt his flush of anger when she stopped herself. He would have been clearly upset for her to believe Kiros was a waste of their time, because it obviously wasn’t for him. His flared frustration on her phantom words piqued her interest. </p><p>“You said we were on Kiros to see if the Kid’s tracker worked,” she said, instead, carefully. She suddenly wanted to see what he would admit to her, if it matched why she believed they were on Kiros for so long. “Was there another reason we were there? That wasn’t for the Kid?”</p><p>He was embarrassed suddenly. He turned and continued to walk. "No."</p><p>She trailed after him slowly. “You can be honest with me, you know,” she called after him. “If there was another reason.”</p><p>”You know, you can be honest with me, too,” he said bravely, stopping again, his helmet staring deadly at her. </p><p>Vena froze. This time, he was serious. They weren’t being playful, it wasn’t about him admitting he wanted to be at peace with her and the Child on a secluded little planet. He had something real he wanted to say. And Vena was scared.</p><p>”About what?” she asked softly.</p><p>“You knew about the Kid, didn’t you?” he asked her. </p><p>Maybe then wasn’t the perfect time to ask her, but she had been irritated and he was, too, and the suns were hot, and they were both wanting to gauge information about each other. He couldn’t help but let it out.</p><p>Vena stayed completely silent and completely still. She worked to maintain a straight face, although inside, they could both tell she was panicking. He could’ve said a number of things that were going to make her panic, if she was being honest, but she wasn’t going to incriminate herself until she knew exactly what secret he believed she was hiding from him. It was smart. He gave her that. </p><p>“You knew the Kid was a Jedi,” he told her. “Before I told you. Before you found out.” </p><p>Her brow came together. "What?"</p><p>He had been thinking of it their whole ride. He was surprised she hadn’t tuned into his deep thought, the feeling of concentration, because, Maker, had he thought hard about Vena’s short lived history with him. He’d thought about their five months together, remembering the details of their encounters, trying to flag questionable actions she had done that pointed to the conclusion he believed. She did well to hide it, if it was true, but she’d missed perhaps the biggest truth of them all: that she knew of the Child’s abilities before he told her. And for that to have happened, she would’ve needed to know a Jedi or be one herself to see it in the Kid. </p><p>He was hurt that she didn't trust him enough to tell that she was like the Kid, but he couldn't blame her. Fear was a powerful thing. And then it started to make sense to him, why she was uncomfortable when he took off his armor, why they'd spoken about liking each other, but done nothing. Why she feared the Empire more than the normal person, why she tried to stay low, why she kept moving. There was one thing keeping her from being her true self with him, he believed, and it was that she thought she couldn't trust him with her secret.</p><p>That was the only thing keeping them apart, he thought. So he had to let her know of his suspicion. If he could tell her and promise she was safe, because he knew she already felt somewhat safe with him, they could be something. He didn't know and he was terrified of finding out but he knew their time together was limited by the time table of their journey to find the Baby’s family and he didn't want to wait any longer. </p><p>"You didn't see him use his powers until he choked Cara,” the Mandalorian stated carefully. “But before that, when I asked you, on Sorgan, to care for him, you knew. When you found out the Empire was after him, you knew then exactly why. And when he used his powers on Cara, you didn’t do anything.”</p><p>”I told you he felt different,” Vena said quickly. She didn’t give him room to think any harder than he clearly had already. “He felt different, that’s how I knew there was something special about him before I saw him use his power.”</p><p>”How would you know what a Jedi felt like unless you’d felt one before?”</p><p>”I’ve never. He just felt different. You know that.”</p><p>”Do I?”</p><p>He was actually right. The biggest mistake she could've made and she made it. The first time she'd seen the Child use his powers was choking Cara and all she had told the Mandalorian was that she could feel the Kid through his feelings and that she didn't fear him. </p><p>But why had he not thought about this until now? After all this time? She had been made, she had to have been. She'd been so caught in finding someone like her that she didn't even cover her tracks, think about hiding her interest, nothing. And now, he probably thought that she knew other Jedi, if he trusted her claim that she wasn’t one herself.</p><p>If she didn’t incriminate herself and admit her power to him, he must’ve assumed she knew what a Jedi felt like. Solely because she hadn’t  reacted to the Baby, because she thought the worst of the Empire’s want for him.</p><p>"Answer the question, Vena."</p><p>"He just felt different. Like—“ she stopped, again. She couldn’t tell him. Right then, he potentially only believed she’d met other Jedi. “Like no one had ever felt before.”</p><p>"Vena,” said the Mandalorian. He was serious. Genuine. He wasn’t angry or frustrated with her, he was pleading. “Hala,” he tried, honestly. "Is there anything you want to tell me?"</p><p>She didn’t want to. She didn’t know what he knew or what he thought. And with the knowledge of potentially more Mandalorian’s intercepting their path, with losing what little relationship she had with him, she could not tell him. Out of fear of what other Mandalorian’s along their path would do to her, with the Jedi being their enemy, and with what assured dynamic change she and the Mandalorian would have if he did know, she could say nothing.</p><p>The Mandalorian tried again: “I've protected you. I've trusted you. We've protected each other, trusted each other. You can tell me. You don't have to be afraid of me, Hal."</p><p>"I'm not."</p><p>"Stop lying,” he said to her. "If you didn't fear me then you would have told me."</p><p>”Told you what?” she tried.</p><p>But he played the game, too. “What you think I think you’re hiding from me.”</p><p>She remained quiet. And then, she just turned and walked away from him. She had no better solution. <br/>
<br/>
She heard him start to trail behind her, after a few moments. She dropped the conversation, so he did, too.</p><p>Vena continued to walk ahead of him by a short distance. She needed space from him. Far enough to where she wasn’t forced to feel him, his irritation with her, his guilt. She didn’t need any of his feelings in that moment.</p><p>He knew. Or he didn’t know, but he basically knew. He was right, Vena did fear him, at some level. It was the reason she couldn’t give into her want for him. She feared him not so much physically or for any other potential reason other than fearing him choosing his Creed over her. She feared how fast their relationship would dim if he found out she was an enemy. If the other Mandalorian’s they met with found out. She liked to think he would not harm her, if they were sworn enemies, because she wouldn’t. She couldn’t. He’d done nothing but care for her all these months. But the truth was... She barely knew him. </p><p>And she hated herself some more for admiring the man in front of her without really knowing him. But, that could've gone both ways. They both didn't know each other beyond what they wanted the other to know and see, it was all played like a game, just like everything in the galaxy was. Yourself first, to survive. Friends could barely be considered friends, sometimes, if the payout was good enough or it meant surviving. </p><p>She would never do that to him, either. Nothing in the galaxy could persuade her to give up him or the Child and she knew so truly and assuredly that he would never do the same to her. They could trust each other to keep the other alive, they were friends, but... That was it. There would always be a 'but'. Vena didn't come before the Creed or the Kid; the Mandalorian couldn't come before...</p><p>She stopped that train of thought. Did she really have much? She didn't have much of a life to live for other than just simply going. No family, no real job or calling, no culture to adhere to, no duty besides staying alive. That had been true all of her life, no matter who she was surrounded by, what job—she stayed alive because that was the only thing she knew she could do, had to do. Maybe she was still waiting for the reason to stay alive. A reason, or multiple, worth staying alive all of this time for.</p><p>So what was it worth? She could admit to him he was right and she had lied to him and she was like the Child and they could be fine. But she would still go. When it came down to it, when they found another Jedi, she would choose them over him. Was it worth it to put him through the process of losing both of them? Was it worth it to fall for a man who would never choose her over his Creed? <br/>
<br/>
It was unpredictable. It was dangerous. Vena, still, considered letting it all go just for the mere chance of being something with him.</p><p>But she didn’t. She wouldn’t. Their time was temporary. If nothing else, she knew now that even if she didn’t admit to him, he was going to remain the same with her until she did or he found out the truth. She was still a priority to him, he was still a protector, even with him being an enemy. That would have to be enough for now. </p><p>They walked for hours in the heat. Their short distance between each other remained. She didn’t slow and he didn’t pick up the pace, but he watched her walk, and when she periodically turned her good montral behind her, he knew she wasn’t truly mad at him. Not if she cared enough to ensure he was still following. </p><p>They didn’t speak again until much later that night. There was nothing to say, really. Vena could tell the truth or she could pretend their conversation wouldn’t happen, because the Mandalorian was certainly not going to say anything more about it. He’d said his thoughts. The truth, or whatever she wanted to disclose, was up to her, now. </p><p>It was well into the night by the time they got back inside of the city walls. Even with the suns down, the town was still buzzing with some life. People swung in and out of cantinas lining the streets, vendors were still selling food, parts, anything and everything. </p><p>Vena slowed as they entered the town. She didn’t acknowledge the Mandalorian stepping in line with her, and neither did he, but she hadn’t remembered exactly where Peli’s bay was. She’d hoped to follow his lead, but when he took her into a cantina, she thought he could read her mind, for a moment. <br/>
<br/>
She debated truly and deeply if she wanted to sit or drink. It was a short debate, since the Mandalorian continued walking straight across the cantina, with not so much as a glance to the bar.</p><p>Vena followed him and noticed Peli sitting in a booth, across from an ant. Peli did a double take when they approached. Vena let the baby walk and he ran for her feet.</p><p>Peli swooped up the Child and set him in her lap. She noted how Vena looked like genuine Hell, before she slid her drink to the edge of the table for the Togruta. Vena chugged it, ignoring the taste, just desperate for liquid.</p><p>Peli looked over at the Mandalorian, worried by Vena’s extreme conquer of her drink, but she saw the helmet on his arm and did a double-take.</p><p>"You finally found a Mandalorian and you killed him?!”</p><p>"I'm going to get another drink,” said Vena, before he spoke.</p><p>She stumbled down to the bar and all but collapsed at the stool, her legs screaming with joy to be seated after walking for eons.</p><p>“Don’t tell me you’re drunk already,” said the bartender, a worried look on his face as he passed by her for a glass. “You just walked in!”</p><p>”No, no,” said Vena. She grabbed a napkin from the stack over the edge of the counter and started to dab at her face, her neck. “Our speeder broke down in the middle of nowhere. Had to walk all the way back.”</p><p>The bartender whistled lowly, shaking his head. He picked out a tall glass, filled it with cold water, then set it in front of Vena, before he returned with a little umbrella for her drink. He smiled warmly at her.</p><p>”You look like you need it,” he offered. </p><p>“The umbrella or the drink?” she played. </p><p>He opened his mouth to reply, happily and jokingly, but his eyes flickered behind her and he cleared his throat suddenly, standing tall. He didn’t even spare her a final glance before he turned away from her and cleared her section of the bar, basically.</p><p>Vena didn’t have to guess who he saw approaching. She sighed and sipped at her drink, waiting to hear his monotonous voice and whatever he had to say now.</p><p>”We’re headed back to Peli’s,” said the Mandalorian in her good montral, leaning close to her head, his hand lingering softly on her waist.</p><p>Vena tilted her water back and let it slide down her throat. She left the empty glass, but took the umbrella, sliding it into her pocket. She hoped the bartender would notice her gesture and think of it as an act of gratitude. </p><p>R5 trailed slowly behind them as they exited the bar and started walking to Peli’s docking bay. Vena lingered beside the droid, unknowing of if it truly did roll slowly or if it was being polite and trying to keep up with her. </p><p>She looked throughout the streets, at the soon closing stores, and interrupted the Mandalorian and Peli’s talk—something about a Dr. Mandible sending a contact who knew more Mandalorian’s.</p><p>“I’ll meet you guys back at the bay,” said Vena abruptly, coming to a stop.</p><p>R5 stopped beside her, but she ushered the droid forward.</p><p>“I need to pick up some stuff. I’ll meet you.”</p><p>"Be careful, Vena. You shouldn’t be alone when it’s dark out here, even within the city walls,” chastised Peli.</p><p>Vena nodded appreciatively. “I can handle myself, probably,” she muttered, slightly joking, then she turned to leave, but the Mandalorian called after her.</p><p>She turned with just enough time to catch a bag of coins he tossed at her. She tried to deny them, to hand them back, but he turned and started to walk away from her, ignoring her calls after him. <br/>
<br/>
Vena sighed. She didn’t want to think about why he wanted her to use his money as opposed to her own. She didn’t want to think at all. Especially not about him.</p><p>She stepped into the first store, the first clothing store she could find, and let her mind be bothered with something mundane for the time being.</p><p>••••</p><p>Vena thought by the time she returned to Peli’s bay that the roasting of the Dragon’s meat would have concluded, but she was wrong. She trudged into the bay, her arms lined with several bags, to which the few pit  droids working on the ship chirped and squeaked about, alerting Peli and the Mandalorian to her entrance.</p><p>Peli laughed. "What, did you spend all his money?"</p><p>"Pretty much," admitted Vena, setting the bags on the floor and sliding her arms out from underneath them. She pointed at each bag. “Medpacks, more portion packets, bowls, couple blankets for the ship, bought the Baby a new little cloak."</p><p>"Did you buy anything for yourself?" asked the Mandalorian.</p><p>Vena neglected to look at him. She felt a blush creeping up her neck, though, and she tried to subtly scratch at her neck. </p><p>“Yes,” she said briefly.</p><p>Peli very obviously noticed the tension between the two of them. She was squinting at both of them, the way Vena avoided his eye, but his helmet stayed on her, and she wanted to comment, very badly, but she did not. She had a grand time teasing the Mandalorian and his hardened exterior, but Vena didn’t deserve her magnification at the moment, with how uncomfortable she looked to just be in his presence.</p><p>"You can go ahead and change in my refresher. Take a shower. Whatever. We've still got time on the meat,” offered Peli. </p><p>Vena jumped at the offer. She thanked Peli and grabbed a few bags from the ground, before she followed R5’s lead. <br/>
<br/>
She rejoiced under the running water in the shower. She forgot how much her aching legs were telling her to sit down, she forgot about Din, how hot Tatooine was, everything, and she just cleansed herself of all the grime and dirt and blood on her body.  </p><p>She looked at her arms, which she usually always covered, because she didn’t want the questions that came with them. When she left the sex worker industry, at the ripe old age of twenty-five, she’d grown annoyed of the questions people tended to ask her, or the assumptions based on the scars on her arms.  The knife marks  all over her arms, the burn marks, from her disobedience in her youth, the slave camp. It hadn’t caused such a ruckus through her work, especially in bigger cities, sex workers were often slaves, and it wasn’t uncommon to see. But other places she traveled, after, like Sorgan, it wasn’t normal. She’d gotten so tired of the pitiful remarks that she started to cover her arms. </p><p>She remembered the Mandalorian asking about one of the marks on Sorgan and she hadn’t wanted to tell him. She’d  never really told anyone that it was from her disobedience in her youth. Though she spent a portion of her youth scantily clad, she always made up stories to her clients. But never the truth.</p><p>The difference was, now, she just didn’t care anymore. That was it. She had no reason to hide her arms or be embarrassed by them when she was on a path where it was such a superfluous thing, to have noticeable scars. She was traveling with a... Friend. And she was a Jedi. She had no reason to hide her physicality any longer, when she could defend herself now, and be proud of her scars. She’d survived. That’s what they meant to her. And that she’d keep surviving.</p><p>Vena slipped on a grey, short-sleeved shirt that ended at her bicep. It was tight to her body, she noticed as she looked at herself in the mirror, nodding appreciatively. She slipped her feet into her new jumpsuit with thin straps, a dark maroon color, with a v-neck. She tucked the ends of her jumpsuit into her brand new black boots. She almost didn’t want to wear new boots, knowing how quickly she was going to ruin them just by traveling with the Mandalorian. She slipped on a new headband on the front of her montrals, a little grey piece with a triangle shaped jewlery at the top.</p><p>She folded her old jump suit into the bag, keeping her old clothes, because she was sure they were going to be of use to her again, in a different temperature. But she felt new. Refreshed. Pretty, really. And her first thought was how the Mandalorian was going to react to her, even though she tried not to think it.</p><p>Vena planned to not make her new clothing a big deal, but the minute she exited into the bay, Peli’s wolf-whistling ruined her plan. Vena’s cheeks swarmed with heat and she smiled shyly, now shuffling forward, instead of confidently walking. </p><p>"Do a spin!"</p><p>”No,” chuckled Vena, setting her bags down by the rest of the items that needed to be carried onto the Crest. </p><p>“Do a spin!” ordered Peli, seriously, and Vena flinched and shuffled her feet into a small circle. Peli slapped the Mandalorian’s arm. "What a lucky pile of bolts you are!"</p><p>Vena felt a tug on her pant leg and she picked up the Child in her arms, looping both her arms under his bottom. She ducked her head to allow him to touch her new headband when he reached for it.</p><p>“What do you think?” she asked him softly. </p><p>"Ba," he said in response, and Vena nodded.</p><p>"I think that means he likes it," laughed Peli. “And what about you, Mando, how does your girl look?"</p><p>He hadn’t taken his helmet off of her. He was sure glad she couldn’t see the way his eyes kept trailing up and down her body, over her arms, her new clothing that just stuck to her body where it curved, how thin the jumpsuit was on her, how the bright color made her impossible to not admire. His thoughts were racing, his heart was pounding, he regretted what he said in the desert because, Maker, did he wish they were okay for him to say something nice to her, but, unfortunately for everyone involved, he could only muster one word: "Good."</p><p>"’GOOD?’’” repeated Peli, exasperated. She snapped her head over to Vena, who looked mildly hurt by his admission, but was trying to hide it. “Force, you need a new man. The Baby did better than him. You want one of my pit droids? They'll treat you like a queen."</p><p>"No, Peli, thank you," she laughed shyly. "Is the meat almost done?"</p><p>"Don’t overcook it, Treadwell!" Peli called suddenly to the droid roasting the meat. "I like it medium rare! I'm not some Rodian, for crying out loud."</p><p>Vena couldn’t suppress her laugh and the Mandalorian sighed.</p><p>Peli turned. "What?"</p><p>"Nothing," smiled Vena, glancing at the Mandalorian.</p><p>Peli ignored them. "Alright, fine, well now that Vena is here, here it is: a Mandalorian covert is close. It’s in this sector, one system trailing.”</p><p>The Mandalorian perked up. "Are they the ones that left Nevarro?"</p><p>"Don’t know. All I know is that the contact will lead you to them."</p><p>"How much will it cost me?"</p><p>"Well, that’s the good news. It’s free. Aside from finder's fee, of course."</p><p>"What's the not-great news?"</p><p>"Nothing. It’s all great.”</p><p>"Okay."</p><p>"However," said Peli, when the Mandalorian turned away from her. He exhaled a sigh and turned to face her, his hands sliding to his hips. "There is one small skank in the scud pie."</p><p>"Which is?"</p><p>"The contact wants passage to the system."</p><p>"Do you vouch for them?"</p><p>"On my life."</p><p>"Fine,” he said, and he turned away once more, but Peli’s voice turned him toward her again.</p><p>"And,” she said. "No hyperdrive."</p><p>If his eyes could have popped out of his socket and through his helmet, Vena was sure they would have.</p><p>"You want me to travel sublight?” he snapped at her. “Deal's off."</p><p>"It’s one sector over!” argued Peli.</p><p>"Moving fast is the only thing keeping us safe!”</p><p>Vena’s brow came together. "What?” she asked, accidentally interrupting. “We just stayed on Kiros for four months, what do you mean moving fast?"</p><p>He fumbled. "Moving fast while traveling,” he said quietly, trying to correct himself, but he sounded very clearly like he had been lying and it was obvious.</p><p>"These are mitigating circumstances,” tried Peli, once more. </p><p>"What do you mean 'mitigating'?"</p><p>A soft cry drew their eyes to the bay’s entrance. It was a pink-toned Frog Lady, her eyes massive and curious, dressed in a brown dress, her hands hooked nervously into the straps of the pack on her back. </p><p>The Mandalorian’s hands fell to his hips again. “I am not a taxi service,” he muttered angrily to Peli’s listening ears.</p><p>Vena thought briefly about how he offered her a ride, anytime, off Sorgan, but she declined her urge to interrupt again. If anything, it only proved the exceptions he had made to his rules for her.</p><p>"I know, I know, I hear you. But I can vouch for her,” Peli promised. </p><p>The Frog Lady approached, making some noises, speaking in her language of clicks and throat speak. Vena smiled at her when her eyes met her own. </p><p>"What's the cargo?" asked the Mandalorian, somewhat softer. </p><p>Peli spoke Frog to the Lady to ask before she turned back to the Mandalorian: "It’s her spawn. She needs her eggs fertilized by the equinox or her line will end. if you jump into hyperspace, they'll die. She said her husband has settled on the estuary moon of Trask in the system of the gas giant Kol Iben."</p><p>The Mandalorian stared at Peli. "She said all that?"</p><p>"I paraphrased."</p><p>He looked between them and then he grumbled, "Is she sure there are Mandalorian's there?"</p><p>Peli turned to ask her that in Frog speak. "She said her husband has seen them."</p><p>Vena felt strong desire pass through her. She glanced down at the Child in her arms, the closest culprit, who was staring wide eyed and with his two front teeth out, at the backpack on the Frog Lady’s back. It was a jar of some kind, filled with blue liquid and more than a dozen spheres. Her eggs, Vena assumed.</p><p>The Frog Lady was ushered forward to the Crest by Peli. As she passed, the Child couldn’t take his eyes away from her. He tried to climb up Vena’s lekku, trying to see over her shoulder, when the Frog Lady disappeared from his line of view.</p><p>"Mesmorized by the potential of life, there, Kid?" Vena joked, turning back to the Mandalorian and Peli.</p><p>"Do you know the husband?" the Mandalorian asked.</p><p>"No, I met her ten minutes before you walked in."</p><p>"I thought you said you vouched for her on your life."</p><p>A pit droid brought Peli a plate with a slab of meat on it. She plucked the meat from the plate and tore a chunk out of it with her teeth. </p><p>"What can I say? I’m an excellent judge of character."</p><p>He was pretty pissed. Vena could tell through his extreme emotions radiating off of him, and Peli could probably tell based on his silence alone, but it was clear she didn't care much. She was certainly an odd woman. Vena, beyond that note, had nothing more to say about his so-called friend, except that she was definitely amusing.</p><p>Vena and the Mandalorian loaded their belongings back onto the ship. She took the time to pack away the items she’d bought, into their respective drawers, she threw the new blankets onto the bed, the Mandalorian changed the Child’s cloak.</p><p>Vena offered the Frog Lady some of the Dragon’s meat, to which she declined with a shake of her head. Vena told her she could wait in the cockpit, which she seemed to understand, and she climbed the ladder up, instead of waiting around awkwardly in the bay. </p><p>Vena tucked her clothing into her backpack and withdrew her journal. She would have time to work on it, with them traveling sublight. She tossed it onto the table in the bay, figuring she’d return to it after take-off, then grabbed the Child and joined the Mandalorian and the Frog Lady in the cockpit.</p><p>With Vena and the Child strapped in, he started to power up the Crest.</p><p>"I'm gonna ask you both to stay strapped in whenever you're seated. Traveling sublight is a bit dicey these days. Whether it’s Pirates or Warlords, someone either ends up with a nice chunk of change or your ship.”</p><p>The Frog Lady tried to reply, but Vena and the Mandalorian both had no clue what she was saying. Even Vena, who was watching her to see if she gestured or anything, had no idea.</p><p>”I’m sorry—“ Vena tried.</p><p>"I don't speak whatever language that is."</p><p>"Mando," Vena scolded quickly. "You could be a little nicer."</p><p>He sighed and tried again. "You speak Huttese? Mahala tu havaka?"</p><p>The Frog Lady was silent.</p><p>Vena signed to her, asking if she spoke through any sign language variation, to which the Frog Lady shook her head.</p><p>"Alright, well, I tried,” said Vena. She shrugged. “It’ll work. It’s fine. It’ll be fine.”</p><p>Once they were in space, and set to cruise, Vena unstrapped herself and the Child and returned downstairs to eat. They sat together at the table, the Child sitting on the table, and she tore off smaller pieces of meat to hand to him as she ate herself.  </p><p>“Your head feeling any better?” she asked him, pointing to her head. “I know you fell pretty hard. You feel okay?”</p><p>The Baby nodded. He spoke a little bit, his head shaking, distained by the events of earlier. <br/>
<br/>
“I know,” agreed Vena. “We all fell and then we had to walk—oh wait,” she said, shaking her finger at him. “I walked the whole time. And carried you! And blocked the sun from your eyes so you could sleep.”</p><p>To that, the Baby said nothing, and he redirected his attention to chewing the meat in his hand. Vena rolled her eyes and laughed. </p><p>When he was finished eating with her, Vena set him on the ground and let him wander. She started to work in her journal, her head ducked, her lip between her teeth, drawing and writing what new creatures and people she had encountered on her recent visit to Tatooine. She was slightly watching the Child; every few minutes she would call, “Ba?” and he would respond, “Ba!” and that would be enough for her.</p><p>The Mandalorian slid down the ladder, quite a while later, his boots hitting the ground with an echoing thud. Vena’s eyes flickered up at him before she lowered her head to her journal.</p><p>"I've set the nav for our course," he said as he approached the table. “It's going to take a while, so I told the Frog Lady the same, gave her a blanket, told her to to stay in the cockpit."</p><p>Vena nodded. “Sounds good.”</p><p>The Mandalorian paused. He was waiting, to see if Vena understood what he meant. Notably, that the Frog Lady was sleeping, so he wanted to sleep, and by default, the Child and Vena should sleep, too. But she said nothing. He had to wonder at some point if he was simply bad at communication. </p><p>“Where’s the Child?” he asked her, instead, trying once more if she would get the hint.</p><p>”Ba?” she called, raising her head.</p><p>They both paused for a second, listening for his response. With the somewhat silence of the ship, they heard what sounded like a slurping noise. He watched Vena’s head turn to a stack of wooden crates across the bay. She nudged the crates apart with her foot and her hands slapped across her mouth when she saw the sight ahead of her.</p><p>The Child had found where the Frog Lady set her eggs down, hidden securely and packed in somewhat tightly. He had popped open the lid and was swallowing the eggs whole.</p><p>"No, no!" they both shouted quietly, rushing for him.</p><p>The Mandalorian grabbed him and Vena shut the container, grabbing it and placing it higher than he could reach, on the table where her journal was. She pushed the chairs out of his reach, as a separate, afterthought, in case he felt the urge to climb. </p><p>"That is not food,” scolded the Mandalorian. “Don’t do that again."</p><p>The Child burped innocently in his face.</p><p>"Nap time,” the Mandalorian decided, instead. He set the Kid on the bed and crawled in himself. As he adjusted the blankets, he looked over at Vena. “You coming?”</p><p>Even if she wanted to say no— for the simple reason being that there was no resolve between them—she had nowhere else to sleep. The cot she slept in originally had been broken when the pirates raided the Crest. She’d stayed with him in his bed the first night for some feeling of safety, but beyond that, it was necessity. (And some level of intimacy, because they both knew the Mandalorian was limited with such tasks).</p><p>Vena crawled into the bed with them. She turned her back to him and the Child, tucking herself as close to the wall as possible. She felt the Mandalorian throw a blanket over all three of them, and he closed the door, eloping them in darkness and in silence.</p><p>They both remained awake for a little while. It was tense, not even between the both of them, but just in their own heads. Vena could feel his racing thoughts, his escalation of emotions and feelings, as though he wanted to talk, but he wouldn’t. It wasn’t surprising to either of them. He’d said his words, his thoughts. It was on Vena to confirm or deny, or, they both thought, to pretend he’d never said anything at all. That was looking to be the path they were going to take. And Vena knew, on some level, that the Mandalorian would allow it. <br/>
<br/>
••••</p><p>Vena was startled awake by an alarm sounding through the ship. She turned over briefly, glancing at the Mandalorian, who hadn’t woken up. She nudged him awake softly, gently, by grabbing his hand and shaking it. His hand shot out to her in the darkness, of which he could see through due to his helmet, but when he realized she was unharmed and the Child was, he smacked his hand against the door to their bed and opened it. </p><p>Vena scooped up the Baby from his sleep and followed the Mandalorian up the ladder to the cockpit. The Frog Lady was still sound asleep in her chair.</p><p>The alarm was not loud, by any means, but Vena’s montrals had picked it up even through  her resting. That alone made her feel better; the urgency of the alarm must not have been prevalent. </p><p>“It’s a Comm,” muttered the Mandalorian as he assessed the control panel in front of him.</p><p>
  <em>"Razor Crest, M-One-Eleven. Come in, Razor Crest. Do you copy?"</em>
</p><p>Vena looked through the cockpit as she saw two X-Wing’s appear beside the Razor Crest. She took a long step back and out of view of the cockpit, tucking the Child into her chest. She sat down in her seat and buckled herself in, with the Kid sitting on her lap, under the belt as well. </p><p>She’d never had a run in with the New Republic before, so, realistically, she had no reason to worry. She hadn’t done anything wrong, and she could guess the Frog Lady’s record was quite clean as well, but the Mandalorian? He caused trouble by his presence. Whether that was by his own volition or people being threatened by him, Vena wasn’t sure, but she was taking a precaution if the worst was to happen. <br/>
<br/>
The New Republic just wanted to mend the galaxy back together. Keep the Empire from rising again. Unfortunately, the situation at hand—the Child, mainly— had to operate somewhat around the rules of the New Republic, if it was going to run smoothly. </p><p>"This is Razor Crest,” responded the Mandalorian. “Is there a problem?"</p><p>
  <em>"We noticed your transponder is not emitting."</em>
</p><p>"Yes, I'm pre-Empire surplus. I'm not required to run a beacon."</p><p>
  <em>"That was before. This sector is under New Republic jurisdiction. All craft are required to run a beacon."</em>
</p><p>"Thank you for letting me know. I'll get right on it."</p><p>
  <em>"Not a problem. Safe travels."</em>
</p><p>The Mandalorian hesitated. "May the Force be with you."</p><p>
  <em>"And also with you."</em>
</p><p>An unsure silence ensued as the Mandalorian waited for the X-Wings to leave them. He remained still, knowing they could see any movement he made through the cockpit, and they stayed silent, as the line of communication was still open. </p><p><em>"Just one more thing,”</em> said the pilot. </p><p>"Yes?" asked the Mandalorian. </p><p>
  <em>"I'm gonna need you to send us a ping. We're out here sweeping for Imperial holdouts."</em>
</p><p>"I'll let you know if I see any."</p><p>The pilot paused. <em>"I'm still gonna need you to send us that ping."</em></p><p>"Well, I'm not sure I have that hardware online."</p><p>
  <em>"We can wait."</em>
</p><p>The Mandalorian waited. He scanned the dashboard but made no actual movements. "Yeah, I... It doesn't seem to be working."</p><p>
  <em>"That's too bad. If we can't confirm you’re not Imperial, you’re gonna have to follow us to the outpost at Adelphi. They'll run your tabs."</em>
</p><p>"Oh, wait,” said the Mandalorian in response. “There it is. Transmitting now."</p><p>The Frog Lady jolted awake. She croaked loudly upon her wake up and Vena hushed her, throwing her hand across the distance between their chairs to hold her arm and shake her head obnoxiously. </p><p>
  <em>"What's that?"</em>
</p><p>"The hypervac is drawing off the exhaust manifold," the Mandalorian covered.</p><p>
  <em>"Carson, can you switch over to channel two?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Copy."</em>
</p><p>There was silence from their end. Vena watched the Mandalorian switch off their comms, momentarily, as if he knew she was itching to say something. And she was.</p><p>“Do I wanna know why you aren’t cooperating with the New Republic?” she asked casually.</p><p>She was trying to reach out, past the Razor Crest, to get a feel for the two pilots, but it was unsuccessful. It didn’t matter too much, when their voices alone held uncertainty and a scrutiny about the off-putting Mandalorian. </p><p>"I’m asking you to trust me again,” said the Mandalorian. </p><p>Vena squinted at the back of his helmet, her gaze deadly. “Every time you ask me to, I trust you less."</p><p>Her head snapped to the X-Wing’s on either side of the Razor Crest as their wings opened up into attack position. </p><p>"Din," she pleaded, worried.</p><p>He flipped the Comms back on.</p><p>
  <em>"Was your craft in the vicinity of New Republic Correctional transport, Bothan-Five?"</em>
</p><p>The Mandalorian said nothing. And then he jerked the controls, and they were rushing off towards the white planet beneath them, the planet they were supposed to be passing over.</p><p>"I'll take that as a yes, then," Vena snapped, clutching the Baby in her lap. "What the hell were you doing near a New Republic Transport? Are you wanted? Am I bunking with a fugitive?"</p><p>"Of sorts,” he grunted, focusing on maintaining their abrupt course correction. “Really not the time, Vena."</p><p>Vena ignored him. "Right, Mando, so you just didn't want to tell me that we should be avoiding not only the Empire, but the New Republic, too? Does <em>anyone</em> like you?"</p><p>"Not really."</p><p>He pushed the Razor Crest down and through the atmosphere. Into the clouds they disappeared, moving quite fast now that they were out of space and in a planets atmosphere. But no matter how he maneuvered through the clouds for coverage, the X-Wings kept him in their sights.</p><p>
  <em>"Razor Crest, stand down. We will fire. I repeat, we will fire."</em>
</p><p>Before Vena even had a chance to say something else, he shoved the controls down, pushing the nose of the ship down, eliciting cries from both Vena and the Frog Lady as they clutched onto their seats. Then, he abruptly adjusted, yanking the nose of the ship up, through the clouds, past the X-Wings, and that was when he powered off the ship.</p><p>Vena screamed for her life when her stomach dropped, along with the ship, with no engine running, no nothing, except falling. Vena and the Frog Lady screeched the entire time the Mandalorian allowed the ship to free fall, before he powered everything back on and they were suddenly flying through a canyon in the vast tundra. </p><p>He made a quick turn, sliding the Razor Crest against the edge of the iced canyon walls, through a narrow slit of the canyon that offered coverage from the sky. The Razor Crest landed and skidded across the ice, sliding to a stop manually, since he turned the engines off, and then they were hidden from view.</p><p>They were all still and silent.</p><p><em>"I’ve lost visual,”</em> one of the pilots said. It was staticy, cutting out, as they flew further away from where the Crest had landed.<em> “He’s gotta be around here, somewhere. You head north, we'll cover more ground."</em></p><p>The Mandalorian let out a breath. That was one less problem to worry about, then. He turned his helmet back to the other problem, behind him. "Vena, you good?"</p><p>A crack beneath the ship stopped her reply. The front of the ship started to tilt forward, presumably breaking the ice, they started to all tilt forward against their seatbelts, but when the ice beneath the Razor Crest gave in and they were free falling again, their screams lasted mere seconds before everyone was knocked unconscious by the hard jolt of the Crest hitting another patch of ice. </p><p>••••</p><p>Vena woke to hands squeezing her face. She shook her head free and blinked open her eyes. Her vision focused on the Baby in front of her, who was babbling and talking, trying to get them all to wake up, but he’d only managed to reach Vena. </p><p>Vena looked around and felt the chilled breeze encapsulate her body. A violent shiver shook her. She glanced behind her, at the opened cockpit door, at the white particles flying through the air. She saw the Frog Lady, still buckled in, but slipping down her seat, unconscious. The Mandalorian was unconscious as well, his helmet and his arms thrown across the dash. </p><p>Vena brought her blue-tinted hands forward to the buckle on her belt and tried to pull it. It was jammed. Or maybe she was too stiff to pull it hard enough. She couldn’t think. Now awake, all she could think about was how cold her body was. She was wearing almost nothing—her thin jumpsuit, short sleeves, no cloak, no anything to protect herself. The cold had started to turn her fingertips blue, the tips of her montrals and her lekku were frosted over. She couldn’t stop the violent tremors of her body once she noticed the cold.</p><p>Vena reached her leg out, wincing at her stiff joints, and she kicked the back of the Mandalorian’s seat.</p><p>"Din," she whispered, having to break apart her lips from how cold it was. She kept kicking the chair and trying to speak louder. “Din, please, come on.”</p><p>A few jolts to his seat forced him awake. He pushed himself from where he’d passed out on the dash and looked around, to Vena, and he immediately unbuckled himself and rushed to her aid. </p><p>"Hala, are you okay?" he asked quickly, grabbing the Child from her lap. </p><p>She nodded. “I just can’t get out of my seat, I’m stuck,” she said.</p><p>The Mandalorian pulled a knife from his pocket and sliced through the belt. She pushed herself up from the seat and crouched down to the Frog Lady’s aid, waking her gently, trying to tell her they were okay, as the Frog Lady croaked with panic. </p><p>The Mandalorian tried to help Vena: “I’ll find her eggs, try to tell her that,” he promised. </p><p>He climbed down the ladder to the docking bay. He set the Child down behind him as Vena followed.</p><p>There was a gaping tear through the side of the Razor Crest that stopped him in his place. The wind was blowing snow into the ship, and they’d been unconscious long enough that a thick layer of snow had been allowed to cover the entire ship. </p><p>"Damn it,” he snapped.</p><p>Vena said nothing. She slid past him and started to rummage through the snow for her bag. She shook the snow from it and used the bottom of it to save snow from the table. She didn’t care if the Mandalorian was watching, she was freezing, and she needed to change before she caught something ill. <br/>
<br/>
She slid her arms through her jumpsuit and pushed it down, quickly, even more cold with the wind hitting her bare legs. She pulled on pants, a long sleeved-shirt over her existing t-shirt, a thicker jumpsuit, a poncho, and then her hooded cloak over it.</p><p>Vena glanced over at the Mandalorian and saw his helmet tilted down. Maybe he hadn’t seen her change. She wasn’t sure if she felt like caring, anyway.</p><p>Noticing her stillness, his helmet slowly lifted, before he saw her watching him and he stepped forward to her. He reached over her head and pulled the hood of her cloak up and over her montrals, as she let it happen, only looking up at him. His hands slid down to her shoulders, then her arms, before he took her hands together in his warm gloves and just held them.</p><p>"Are you okay?" he asked her softly.</p><p>"You said I would like the snow," she muttered angrily.</p><p>He couldn’t help but find her somewhat feigned irritation charming. He left her for a moment, returning with a few blankets retrieved from a wooden crate. He wrapped her in the blanket and set the other blankets in her hands. He glanced down at the floor, for the Child, so he could wrap him, too, but he wasn’t near them.  </p><p>He walked along the length of the docking bay, scanning for him. He pushed apart some crates that had been thrown together and found the Baby, and the Frog Lady’s eggs, and he was eating them again! </p><p>“No!” he gasped, snatching the container from his grasp. “No, no, I told you not to do that.”</p><p>He placed them high up, again, and then grabbed the Child from the floor, wrapping him in the blanket. </p><p>"How many did you eat?" he asked.</p><p>The Child burped in response.</p><p>The Frog Lady came down the ladder, too. She squealed as she saw the Mandalorian holding her eggs and clutched them in her arms tightly. </p><p>Vena rummaged through their strewn about things for blankets, while the Mandalorian set up an old heater he had stored away. He ushered the Frog Lady and Vena to sit, with the Child in Vena’s arms, and he wrapped them in blankets. He set the heater by their feet. With them trying to stay warm, he could manage to diverge his mind to the other multitude of problems he had. <br/>
<br/>
As Vena sat next to the Frog Lady—entirely too close as strangers, but neither minding too much because it was genuinely freezing— she held her chin to her chest, trying to hide her bare face from the cold. All she could really think about was how cold she was and how her montral could not hear clearly in any capacity outside of the Razor Crest. She kept trying to focus, to hear, but the Mandalorian was correct: the snow and her montrals did not work well together at all. </p><p>She paid the Mandalorian almost no mind as he found scrap cloth and securing measures to cover the hole in the ship. Apparently he’d left the bay and assessed the damage, too, and Vena hadn’t noticed.</p><p>When he returned, his silver armor frosted over, he started with the good news first: he found food. He offered both of them what remained of the portion packets, as most had been torn open or burst open through the event.</p><p>Vena declined, the Baby declined, but the Frog Lady accepted. She pushed her crate closer to the heater, away from Vena, having used the excuse to get up to move from them. Maybe she was tired of the Baby staring wide-eyes at her eggs. She didn’t know.</p><p>Vena didn’t pay the Mandalorian any attention when he sat beside her on the crate, his leg pushed against hers, his shoulder next to hers. His armor was freezing, even through her layers, and she flinched at the contact but let it go. He might’ve been cold, too, and not just comforting her. </p><p>"Tell me the bad news,” she mumbled, turning her lowered head in his direction. </p><p>"The main power drive is not responding. The hull has lost its integrity. I suspect the temperature will drop significantly when night falls,” he said. “I'll have a better idea of our prospects at that time."</p><p>Vena sighed. She pulled the Kid closer into her stomach, hoping their combined warmth would do something for him. He seemed alright. His main attention was on the Frog Lady’s children, anyway. </p><p>While the Mandalorian thought he’d been speaking only to Vena, they found out quickly the Frog Lady could understand him, too. She turned, at the mention of an extended time period in the cold, and started to yell at him, clearly, although they could not understand her. <br/>
<br/>
“I’m sorry, we don’t understand you,” said Vena softly, shaking her head. “He’s trying here.”</p><p>"Whatever it is, it can wait ‘til morning,” he muttered. He turned his helmet to the Frog Lady. “I recommend you get some sleep."</p><p>She cowered and wrapped the blanket closer around her and her babies, hugging the backpack tightly to her chest and resting her head on it. </p><p>The Mandalorian stood from the crates and sat back down on the floor, propped against the wall. He was beside the poorly patched hole in the ship, in case something tried to enter, and when he looked up at Vena, one arm open and ready for her, she slipped down to the floor at his side. She wasn’t going to argue. </p><p>The Baby crawled from her lap and onto his, pulling the Mandalorian’s cloak over his legs.</p><p>Vena was still shivering, despite wearing pretty much all of her clothes, and being wrapped in a blanket. His arm fell around her shoulders, she reached up and locked their fingers together. She pulled her legs up to her chest and leaned into his side. She rested her cheek in the crook of the Mandalorian’s neck, where the fabric was, and she breathed hot breath through the fabric of his clothes, warming him, too, though she didn't know it.</p><p>Her breathing on his neck did something else, too, but he wouldn’t act on it. Instead, he turned his helmet and leaned his cheek against her hood. </p><p>"I'm sorry if the Beskar is cold,” he whispered.</p><p>"It's okay,” she whispered back, fighting to keep her teeth from chattering. There was barely a pause before she admitted to him: "I really don’t like the snow."</p><p>"Well, if I would've known we were going to a snow planet, I would’ve told you to dress for the occasion,” he teased softly. <br/>
<br/>
Vena wasn’t having it. She raised her head to stare at him, through his visor, like she always seemed to manage, and she was not pleased. Her eyes were hardened. Her brow was together. She was tired and cold and irritated and she finally had the voice to say something about it to him. </p><p>“Don’t be cute right now,” she said. “We’re stuck here because you ran from the Rebels. Why would you run from the Rebels?”</p><p>"Hala—“</p><p>"No," she interrupted. "I have to know. I know you said sub space travel is dicey, but I thought you meant because of Pirates, or something, not the literal Rebel Alliance. I know we’re running from the Imps, the bad guys, but you didn’t tell me we’re running from the Rebels, too. I need to know.”</p><p>The irony was not lost on her—demanding to know information that put them in danger from him while she harbored information that put them in danger. But, she could say, her secret hadn’t caused them a near-death experience, and that fact alone was why she demanded to know why he ran. </p><p>The Mandalorian had no quarrels about answering her. He hoped in his honesty, he would get the same from her. He didn’t take any time to think about what he was going to say; he had been thinking about the question he knew she was going to ask the whole time since they’d woken up. </p><p>"I needed some money for me and the Kid. Had to work this job with some old contacts. We tried to break this Twi’lek out of prison. Went poorly. They killed a New Republic Officer, but I tried to save him. Obviously didn’t work out. But I sent the Republic on their trail, as far as I know, some of ‘em are dead, some of them are imprisoned."</p><p>"So they want you for attempted murder,” she muttered. She paused. “Or, being witness to a murder,” she widened her eyes. “Or breaking into the prison,” she tilted her head. “Or literal murder. Or intentional but not first person murder? If that’s a charge?”</p><p>"Wouldn’t know,” he said thoughtfully. </p><p>She looked up at him. She wasn’t surprised by his story. She could imagine he was leaving out key details on his wild adventure, but one detail stuck out to her, and that was that he tried to save the Republic Officer. That didn’t surprise her in any capacity. He was a killer, definitely, but he would never be a senseless killer. </p><p>Vena wiggled her fingers from their grasp together and applied her gloved hands to his visor. “You are going to be a headache, Din Djarin."</p><p>"I know,” he agreed. "But I didn't lie to you, Hala. I will do everything I can to keep you and the Kid safe. You just--"</p><p>"Have to trust you,” she finished knowingly. Her hand dropped, and her head with it. “I know. I know. And I do trust you. You’ve kept me safe. Trusted me, too. Sometimes, it's just scary."</p><p>“To trust me?” he clarified and she nodded. “Hal, I won't let anything happen to you."</p><p>"I know.”</p><p>He tried again: “And you know you can tell me anything."</p><p>She smiled sadly. “Yeah."</p><p>“Alright.”</p><p>Vena sat up and she put her hands on his helmet, bringing his head forward and pressing her lips on the side of his beskar. She didn’t wait for a reaction from him and instead she returned quickly back to cuddling into his side, closing her eyes, and pretending to sleep until it became a reality. She knew, and he knew, she would be allowing herself to feel his feelings— which shifted from confusion to adoration quite quickly, and from there until he fell asleep, absolute content. </p><p>••••</p><p>"Wake up, Twi’lek and Mandalorian!"</p><p>Vena and the Mandalorian jumped out of their state of sleep quickly at the loud, startling voice. He was quick, as usual, and grabbed a weapon to combat the fear in him at the unusual and wake-up; his hand was on Vena’s thigh and by her blaster, he grabbed it, pointed it at the voice, while she reached across him and threw her hand over the Baby. </p><p>But it was just the Frog Lady. She seemingly hot-wired the broken, bug-eyed droid hanging in the ship. It was translating her language to Basic, communicating to them in its robotic, monotone voice. </p><p>The Mandalorian lowered the blaster. “Togruta.”</p><p>The Frog Lady ignored him. "This cannot wait until morning. Do not be alarmed. I bypassed the droid's security protocols and accessed its vocabulator."</p><p>"What the Hell are you doing?" he asked her tiredly. "That droid is a killer."</p><p>The Frog Lady ignored him again. “These eggs are the last brood of my life cycle. My husband has risked his life to carve out an existence for us on the only planet that is hospitable to our species. We fought too hard and suffered too much to resign outselves to the extinction of our family line. I must demand that you hold true to the deal that you agreed to."</p><p>"Look, Lady, the deal is off. We're lucky if we get off this frozen tomb with our lives."</p><p>Vena’s eyes almost fell out of her head at his blunt statement. “Uh, what?” she said questionably, leaning away from him to look at him. </p><p>“I can’t fix the ship right now, I—“</p><p>”Okay, no, I am not dying on an ice planet,” said Vena, pushing herself from the floor. “You can’t fix the ship right now, but maybe <em>we</em> can. What do you need?”</p><p>He crossed his arms over his chest. “You said your short days as a mechanic didn’t go well.”<br/>
<br/>
“They didn’t. I was awful. But I also wasn’t being threatened with literal death by freezing when I was!” she said. She tied her blanket around her neck, adding an extra layer, another cape, then held her hands out to help him up. “So come on. Our brains together will equal something smart enough to save us.”</p><p>The Mandalorian huffed. He replaced the Child from his lap and to the floor, then stood with Vena’s help. He grabbed his tool box from the floor and squeezed through the sheet coverage of the torn ship. Vena followed. She couldn’t help the wincing on her face as she faced the unfiltered cold and she definitely wasn’t fast enough to hide her reaction when she saw how badly the Razor Crest was beaten up from the outside. </p><p>The entire left side of the ship had been sunk into the snow, the hull was smoking, panels on the exterior of the ship were peeling off and flapping in the wind.</p><p>“I thought it looked bad on the inside,” she gasped quietly, absolutely shocked by the damage.</p><p>She looked at the Mandalorian’s blank stare and scratched her neck awkwardly. She understood now why he thought they were going to die there.</p><p> “Uh. Ok. Where do we start then?”</p><p>"<em>We</em> don't start anything. I'll handle it. Just go back inside,” he sighed.</p><p>"Nonsense. I'll help you. Just tell me what to do."</p><p>"Vena, please. It’s fine."</p><p>"You need the moral support,” she disagreed. She reached past him and grabbed a tool, a drill by the looks of it, and put her finger on the trigger, making tip whirl. She pretended like she didn't flinch. "Point me in a direction."</p><p>He sighed and took the tool from her. He rested his hand on her face and tilted her head up to him.</p><p>"Please. Go," he said.</p><p>"Are you sure?" she asked sadly.</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"Alright,” she muttered, defeated. She started to trudge back into the ship. “But if you need help, I will come out here, okay?”</p><p>The Mandalorian agreed, but they both knew he had no intention of asking for her help anyway.</p><p>Vena reentered the Razor Crest. The Baby was at her feet quickly, staring up at her, curious. She swept him off his feet and held him on her hip as she walked back to where they were sleeping and slid down the wall again, resting her head against the hard wall. </p><p>The Frog Lady was sitting, too, but she was by the momentarily repurposed droid still. She held the translator up to her lips, then asked if the Mandalorian was mad at her. </p><p>"No, no, he's always short. It's fine. You’re fine,” Vena assured. “We'll get through this. We’ll get you and your babies back to your husband safely. Just might take some more time than we thought.” </p><p>The Frog Lady nodded thankfully, before she decided to make more conversation. "I’m sorry for calling you a Twi’lek. I’ve forgotten your names.”</p><p>”Vena,” she introduced, then held up the Child’s hand and waved. “We call him the Child. Or the Baby. Whatever variation. He doesn’t have a name, really.”</p><p>If she found it strange, she said nothing. Vena had come to hate to admit they had no name for the Child.</p><p>“Do you and your husband plan on having more?" asked the Frog Lady. </p><p>Vena awkwardly laughed. "Oh, he isn't ours. And we aren't together, actually. And I don't have any children."</p><p>The Frog Lady nodded. “Is the Mandalorian taking you somewhere, too?”</p><p>Vena opened her mouth to reply to her, her first instinct to say no, which stopped her. Because, well, he was. He was her passage to the Jedi, now, in all honesty. But the fact that her first instinct was to infer she was willingly traveling with the Mandalorian with no end in sight, no destination... That intrigued her. Made her think. </p><p>“Um, no,” she decided to say, when she remembered she hadn’t responded to the Frog Lady. “No. We’re just traveling together.”</p><p>The Frog Lady seemingly had nothing else to say. She powered down the robot. She and Vena sat together, in silence, listening to the whistling winds of whatever ice planet they were on. <br/>
<br/>
It couldn’t have been more than twenty minutes of absolute silence before Vena couldn’t handle it anymore and offered to let the Frog Lady get some rest or something before she and the Child went to find the Mandalorian again. </p><p>She didn’t find him on the side of the ship with the gaping hole in it. He must have been on the other side, she thought, and she started to walk around the ship when she realized the Baby hadn’t followed her. He stepped out into the snow and plopped down, smacking his hands into the soft top layer of the snow. </p><p>Vena squatted in front of him and shook her head. She must have been the only sane one between him and the Mandalorian— she was wearing the most clothes and she was still cold, while they showed no care towards the chill. </p><p>“Hey, hey—“ she said, wiggling her finger at him when he tried to shove a fistful of snow in his mouth. “You think that’s safe to eat? Have you ever seen snow before? Do you know?”</p><p>But when he did anyway, with no regard for her concern, Vena waited for him to react in some immediate way. When he didn’t, she glanced up at the trickling snow falling from the sky and held out her tongue. She flinched as she felt the fat snowflake smack against her tongue and dissolve immediately when paired with her warm mouth.</p><p>"Oh, it’s...” she muttered, her brow coming together. She stuck her tongue out again. “Is that water?”</p><p>Intrigued by her discovery, she left the Baby in the snow and shuffled around the Crest to the other side, where the Mandalorian was working.</p><p>"You didn't tell me snow was water!” she said to him, her eyes wide with excitement. “All of this is just water?”</p><p>He glanced over at her, but continued to work. "Yes."</p><p>"Have you ate it?"</p><p>"No,” he said immediately. “Did you?” When she nodded, suddenly rethinking her decision, he muttered, “I don't know if you should continue to eat snow."</p><p>"Could keep you hydrated, at that rate," said Vena thoughtfully, trying to cover her embarrassment. "But I thought I’d let you know I hate it a little less. Didn’t know it was water. That’s kinda cool. It's kind of fun."</p><p>The Mandalorian was amused. He remembered she had never been in snow nor seen it before, but after how irritated and cold she was, he didn’t think she would want to learn about it. Admittedly, he didn’t know very much about snow to teach anyway, but he did know something that would keep her mood up.</p><p>He wanted to keep that smile on her face. He hadn’t seen her somewhat carefree in a few days, after he’d made the mistake of cornering her about her secret. He hoped their detour would be a path to rekindling their relationship back to some variation of what it was before; ignorance to the truth Vena held within herself. <br/>
<br/>
The Mandalorian set down his tools and stuck his hands into the snow, digging out a small chunk of packed snow into his hands. He hit at it, pushed it together, while Vena watched him pointedly. Even though she was watching him, she didn’t predict him throwing it at her, and he did quickly, on purpose, to catch her off guard and he chuckled as the snowball hit her stomach and left some loose snow on her cloak.</p><p>Vena stared at the Mandalorian, her mouth open, shocked and simultaneously intrigued by his actions. She growled at him, scrunching her nose, then called for the Child and dropped to her knees, digging her hands through the snow, like the Mandalorian had. </p><p>The Baby hustled around the Crest and sat down with her. Together, they messed around in the snow, trying to form snowballs, as the Mandalorian went back to work, shaking his head.</p><p>He knew they had gotten it when a snowball hit him in the back of his helmet and Vena just about fell over laughing. He turned to both of them, slowly, his hands on his hips. </p><p>"Don't start a fight you can't finish," he warned her.</p><p>"Oh, no, I really think me and the Baby can take you,” insisted Vena. <br/>
<br/>
“How long did it take you to make one snowball?” </p><p>“Well, you missed the part where we kept missing you, so—“</p><p>The Mandalorian rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Go back inside. It’s getting colder out, it’s almost night time.” </p><p>“If we’re going in, then so are you,” insisted Vena. </p><p>"What's the Frog Lady doing?" he asked. </p><p>"Keeping her eggs warm, probably,” she said. "Before I came out here, we talked for a little bit through the translator. Nice lady."</p><p>He huffed and turned back to keep working on the ship. "Glad you think so."</p><p>"Everyone's got an agenda," Vena sighed, trying to defend the woman a little. "She just wants her line to continue."</p><p>The Mandalorian disregarded Vena’s attempt to make a truce with the Frog Lady. He was intrigued by her claim, however, and despite the warning signals in his brain telling him not to push anymore, he found himself asking: “And yours?”</p><p>"What?” asked Vena. </p><p>“Your agenda.” </p><p>He glanced over at her. He paused, momentarily, a small smile lifting his lips at the top of her reddened nose the longer it was exposed to the cold. She was staring at him, her nose red, her plump lips split, her eyebrows together worriedly, like he’d asked her a much more intrusive question.</p><p>On some level, it was. It was a different form of the question he did want to ask. What was her plan? What was her goal here? They both wanted to know, now, after the Frog Lady’s assumption and Vena’s mental debacle over it. </p><p>She thought about telling him, then. Just to get it over with. She wanted to tell him and for a second she believed that he wouldn’t change his ways with her when she admitted the truth to him. But again, she didn’t. She still couldn’t. That time, it was because she was feeling normal again. Selfish. She’d smiled, they both had, genuinely, for the first time since he brought his claim to the forefront of their minds, and she wasn’t ready to let go of the ignorance. </p><p>Vena slapped a smile on her face quickly. “To stay alive, mainly,” she said. “Meet some nice people. Fit in, finally. I don’t know.”</p><p>Even though he wouldn’t admit to her, he understood wanting to fit in somewhere. He was slightly shocked she mentioned such a goal, when she’d been so loved and central to life on Sorgan. But, he supposed, with more thought, that was a lonely life. She’d lived a lonely life in general, on her own, with no people. </p><p>The Mandalorian understood her better than she probably thought. He’d asked again, yes, but he didn’t fight her on her second refusal. On some level, he, too, wanted to remain in their level of normalcy. As normal as their normative state could be.  </p><p>"Well, you said you wanted to see the galaxy, too,” he added. </p><p>"I have been lucky to have traveled at all,”said Vena honestly. “Cobb has never even left Tatooine and he’s probably a bit older than us, which is crazy to me. Imagine how boring my life would have been if I’d stayed on Kiros from birth to death. No thanks.”</p><p>”You’re inferring that the bad things that have happened to you are good, by that measure,” said the Mandalorian, confused. </p><p>“They’re not good, but it happened,” said Vena. “It all happened. I’m just in the business of trying to see the bright side of my tragic story, in my old age.” </p><p>“You’re not old,” sighed the Mandalorian.</p><p>She smiled but continued, because she knew he was stuck on her words. “My old friend, the one who gave me that bracelet, remember?”</p><p>He nodded. </p><p>“She helped me make sense of it all. I lost my home, I lost my family. Lived in the slave camp, escaped the camp, was on my own, had absolutely nothing. Nothing. Barely a sliver of hope, when she found me,” explained Vena. He glanced over at her again and found her eyes staring at the snow in front of her, a thoughtful, memorable expression on her face. “But she told me that everything that happened in my life took me where it did and put me through all of it for something.”</p><p>”For what?”</p><p>”Remains to be seen, by my standards,” said Vena honestly. She sighed, raising her eyes. “I was fifteen when I met her and she told me that and, here I am, still trying to find out why.” </p><p>“It’s just the reality of the galaxy,” shrugged the Mandalorian. </p><p>“No, but I don’t think that, sometimes,” said Vena. “I know the galaxy is brutal and it’s unfortunate and terrible, but, sometimes, when stuff happens, don’t you think about it? Where you’ve ended up, what decisions you’ve made that put you here?”</p><p>”On a stupid ice planet with a broken ship and a pretty girl? I’ve made some questionable decisions, by that standard.”</p><p>”I’ll pretend like I’m not a questionable decision.”</p><p>”You aren’t.”</p><p>"I just feel like she is right, sometimes. When I really sit and think about what we go through, what we’ve done, all the trauma and tears and heartbreak... Maybe it’s all for some big personal pay off. Some duty to the universe, or something. For some reason beyond us.”</p><p>He decided to listen to her, to genuinely listen and think about her words. It wasn’t often he thought more about life than what pressing matters he had to deal with, because there was always something. He’d certainly thought a lot more about why things happened to him as a Child than he did in his adulthood. His former words were his train of thought to a T: the galaxy was brutal, it was reality. </p><p>The Mandalorian turned his helmet towards her. “You think it’s luck I found you and the Kid?”</p><p>”That’s what I’m talking about,” she disclosed softly to him. “Because I don’t think it’s luck. I think, sometimes, meeting you two are what I’ve gone through all of it for.” </p><p>The Mandalorian scoffed. “All I’ve put you through is near death experiences and the loss of your montral—“</p><p>”Stop,” she said, pushing herself up from the ground. “No.”</p><p>He couldn’t help but deny her claim. Every night, when she was asleep beside him, he wanted to pretend like they could work. He wanted to act like he wasn’t the reason she lost her hearing, like he could take off his helmet and kiss her, like he could never return the Child home and live in the Crest, traveling for however long they desired. He wanted to make something work with Vena, he did, but the minute she claimed she went through her life and it’s grievances to meet him— inexperienced, awkward, nothing of a fraction of the man she probably wanted to be with, his sobered immediately.</p><p>“Din, I’m being serious,” she said, reaching for his hand. <br/>
<br/>
“I am too,” he said, shaking his head. “Don’t you dare say that you went through all of that to end up meeting me. I’m not enough to be what you need. Or what you want.”</p><p>Vena’s brow dropped as he spoke. Her eyes started to blink rapidly, she turned her head, trying to rid the welling tears. His words <em>hurt</em>. They stabbed her right in her heart, they made her stomach feel sick. <br/>
<br/>
All she’d wanted to do was tell him meeting him and the Child was the light at the end of the tunnel, a blessing, a positive in her life. She hoped him knowing that would ease him away from the truth he wanted to know about her. And he’d told her that she needed someone else and not him. He’d told her he didn’t care about how she felt. Clearly, he didn’t feel the same way, about their journey together meaning something. </p><p>Vena didn’t have anything else to say. She turned and ran through the snow, away from him, wanting to just be away from him, again. But he’d dropped his tools quickly when he saw her negative reaction and tried to run after her before he ruined the situation further. </p><p>He rounded the back end of the Crest and saw Vena stopped. The Child was at her feet, his hand up, pointed at tracks in the snow. Frog feet, leading away from the Crest and further into the cave. </p><p>“Dank Farrik,” snapped the Mandalorian. He looked over at Vena wiping her eyes and his heart sank. “Hala—“</p><p>”We have to go find her before night,” she interrupted. Her voice was dead. Her face was blank as she stared back at him. “You were right, my montral is all over the place. I can’t see anything that isn’t right by me. So you’ll have to excuse my lack of hearing.” </p><p>She said nothing else and started to walk in the Frog Lady’s footsteps with not so much as a glance back at him, or the Child.</p><p>"Don't apologize,” mumbled the Mandalorian, after her, but he was unsure if she heard.</p><p>He and the Child followed behind Vena. He surely didn’t miss the way the Child glared at him, probably sensing Vena’s rejection and her sadness. He would have to find something to say. Where he normally would have hoped Vena would’ve understood he hadn’t meant his words as they came out, she clearly didn’t care enough to try to interpret in Din Language, and he couldn’t blame her. She’d never rejected him. <br/>
<br/>
The Mandalorian, Vena, and the Baby trudged into the ice caves. There was a pale blue tint to their vision with the way the dimming sun shined through the ice and illuminated the cave. </p><p>The Mandalorian walked slowly and they were quiet, not because of their feelings, but in case there was something unfortunate lurking in the caves. Vena wanted to ask what kind of creatures existed on snow planets, but she didn’t. Maybe it was better she didn't know.</p><p>They both heard the unmistakeable sound of water being splashed in and they glanced at each other. Vena rounded the corner, first, and when he saw her relax, he did, too.  </p><p>The Frog Lady had found a hot spring. The water was steaming, naturally, which Vena was so confused by. Her eyes scanned across the cave, the hot spring, the ice caps on the ground, and her eyes stopped on sharp sticks hanging from the ceiling of the cave. She stared at the pointed ends of the ice sticks, wide-eyed, afraid. </p><p>“There you are,” muttered the Mandalorian angrily. He stomped across the ice to the hot spring, with no regard for the ice sticks, apparently. "You can't leave the ship. It’s not safe out here."</p><p>Vena stepped forward carefully. When he noticed she was taking her time, cautiously, he turned back to her and asked her what was wrong. She pointed up to the ceiling of the cave.</p><p>”They’re icicles,” he sighed. “Come on. You’re fine.” </p><p>Vena frowned at his rough tone, but she shuffled forward to the hot spring.</p><p>"We have to gather them up," said the Mandalorian, bending over and grabbing the Frog Lady’s eggs, placing them back into the container.</p><p>The Frog Lady groaned in protest.</p><p>"I know it’s warm, but nights coming fast, and I cant protect you out here."</p><p>Vena kneeled, pulling off her gloves. She stuck her hands into the water to help him, but when the warmth engulfed her hands, she froze and let out a soft sigh. She closed her eyes blissfully, the water warming her dry, cold skin.</p><p>"Vena," he said sternly.</p><p>“It’s warm."</p><p>The Baby reached for an egg and the Mandalorian’s arm shot out, a single finger in protest.</p><p>"No," he said, waving his finger sternly at the Child. "No."</p><p>The Child wined in protest, but he ultimately listened. He trudged away from the hot spring.</p><p>Vena pushed the eggs over and through the water until they were all collected. The Mandalorian took the eggs and held them in his arms, then he and Vena turned their backs, giving the Frog Lady privacy as she exited the bath and pulled her clothes back on. <br/>
<br/>
Mere seconds later, they both detected a rumbling sound from nearby, behind the ice caves walls. There was a crackling noise, the ice shifting and breaking, and a repeated thumping noise of something with heavy weight shifting or moving, in the distance, but close enough to warrant slight panic in both Vena and the Mandalorian. </p><p>Vena heard the Child whimper and cry. He was running back towards them, having disappeared and wandered into the snow caps on the ground. Upon further inspection, they were not snow caps, but were oval-shaped buds, or, more accurately, eggs.</p><p>"My montral has nothing," said Vena quickly, when she felt the Mandalorian look over at her expectantly. “I can’t hear anything, can’t see. The snow—“</p><p>She stopped as the eggs along the ground started to crack open, startled by the the rumbling. Vena couldn’t help the horrified expression on her face as little multi-legged creatures started to slip and trickle across the ice towards them after they hatched.</p><p>Vena snatched the Child from the ground and growled at him: “What did you do?!” </p><p>He burped, again, and Vena almost screamed.</p><p>”We have to start feeding him more. He’s going to get fat, but—“</p><p>"Vena," said the Mandalorian hurriedly. “We have to go. Back to the ship.” </p><p>There were so many of them that had budded in such a short amount of time. Vena was starting to shake with disgust, feeling the unmistakable sensation of bugs crawling up her skin. Their size was not a problem, she thought, her and the Mandalorian could shoot those creatures dead with no problem— it was their numbers, how fast they moved. She and Mando would need a head start and distance if they were to protect themselves adequately.</p><p>"No, I hate this planet," she muttered, turning and checking to see if the Frog Lady was ready. "I hate it. Irredeemable."</p><p>The Mandalorian slung the eggs over his shoulder and he ushered them both back to the entrance of the cave, drawing his blaster, when he saw Vena do the same. </p><p><br/>
But then, a roar came from the darkness of the cave. At the very back, behind the hatched eggs, from the dark, came a massive, skinny leg. It stabbed through the ice, then another leg, and then multiple. It was the same creature as the hatchlings; skinny individual legs attached to an oval head, with a circular arrangement of sharp teeth inside of its small mouth, but with a growl and a step that trembled the cave. </p><p>Vena screamed at the top of her lungs when she saw it. She grabbed the Frog Lady’s hand and took off with her and the Child. She practically forgot about the blaster in her hand until the giant ice monster caught up with their little legs, a single leg stabbed through the ice above them, Vena screamed again, before she realized the blaster in her hand and she fired relentlessly. </p><p>It hissed and she saw its mouth, its excessive  amount of teeth, and shot a sticky substance down through the hole in the ceiling of the cave.</p><p>The Mandalorian and Vena started to shoot blankly behind them to try to scare off the army of little creatures following their leader.</p><p>The Frog Lady ditched running on her legs and started to use all four of her legs to jump ahead of them.</p><p>The Mandalorian threw charges at the walls of the cave to hurt the giant creature. They all flinched and covered their heads as it exploded, they glanced back to see if it was dead, but the creature had thick skin, and it only toppled over momentarily. The blast, however, had disintegrated a number of the smaller creatures. It almost didn’t matter. They still outnumbered the Razor Crest travelers.  </p><p>At the cove the Razor Crest sat in, the Mandalorian shoved the Frog Lady’s children into Vena’s arms, and turned, firing his blaster and igniting his fire to hold back the smaller creatures while the Frog Lady, the Child, and Vena slipped into the Crest through the tear in the side.</p><p>Vena handed the Frog Lady her children and then handed her the Child, too, urging her to the ladder up to the cockpit. She waited at the bottom of the ladder, ensuring the Frog Lady made it to the cockpit, waiting for the Mandalorian to enter the bay, but when he didn’t, she was forced to leave her post of protecting the Child and the Frog Lady.</p><p>Vena stuck her head out of the tarp loosely covering the tear in the Crest. She saw him immediately. A web trapped his hand against the exterior of the Crest, he was shooting with one hand, while trying to wiggle his way from the trap at the same time. As she moved to help him, he raised his hand, catching a creature who had jumped for Vena’s face, and he crushed it in his hand.</p><p>Vena drew her knife from its small holster behind her waist and slapped it into his hand.</p><p>She shot at the incoming hoard of creatures, firing rapidly and scattering her aim. She thought her success rate would have been awful, because she didn’t have her montral to help, but when she kept hitting creatures, again and again, she thought maybe it wasn’t her montrals that helped her hit her target. For the first time, she thought it was the power inside of her, helping her aim, guiding her hand to the most probable and successful shot. </p><p>And she hoped, to the universe, that the Mandalorian wouldn’t notice and ask her about it.</p><p>He was free. He dove into the tear in the ship, throwing himself at her, placing his hands on her waist and shoving her along towards the ladder hurriedly. He was right on her heels and she climbed the ladder to the cockpit, and a worried hand remained on her lower back as they went into the cockpit, reuniting with the Frog Lady and the Child. </p><p>They had no time between any of their short travel to escape the creatures. In seconds, the Crest was engulfed and crawling with the tedious little beings. As the Mandalorian tried to close the doors to the cockpit to seal themselves in, some of the creatures were fast enough and spry enough to leap over him and craw up the ceiling, or speed right by his feet and scatter along the floor.</p><p>The Mandalorian ignited his flamethrower again and burned the creatures trying to shove through the door so he could close it.</p><p>Vena stomped on the creatures that approached her. She shot low, at the few that evaded her boot, trying to hurry. When she heard the Child whimper, she whipped around to find him, only to see a the creature on top of his head be shot by the Frog Lady. </p><p>The door closed with a loud thud.</p><p>Vena shoved her blaster into her holster and started to itch on her neck, adjust her clothes. Despite the creatures not touching her, she felt the phantom sensation of their little legs crawling over her skin, making her antsy and uncomfortable. </p><p>"Strap yourselves in,” said the Mandalorian quickly, rushing forward to his seat. “This better work."</p><p>The Frog Lady obeyed immediately.</p><p>Vena grabbed the Child from the ground and sat, too, reaching for her seatbelt, before she remembered. </p><p>“We cut through my belt,” she said quickly, her eyes wide at their stupidity. <br/>
<br/>
The Mandalorian paused momentarily and turned, sharing in her disbelief. “We... Probably shouldn’t have done that.” </p><p>Soft thuds hit the frosted cockpits shield; more creatures starting to inhabit the ship. </p><p>The Mandalorian turned to the dash. "I've got limited visibility, so it’s gonna be a bumpy ride."</p><p>As he started to power the ship up, or tried to, at least, the Frog Lady reached for the Child and tucked him into her seatbelt, while she clutched onto her eggs with her other arm. </p><p>Vena looked down at the broken belt and then just held on tightly to the edge of the seat. She would have to strap herself in with pure hope.</p><p>"Please just don’t go upside down," she begged him.</p><p>The Razor Crest started to lift as the engine worked, but then a force hit them, then a roar, hit their ears. It was the giant creature making its return. Two legs stabbed through the cockpit, one of them inches from Vena’s seat. Its eyes turned to them, then its mouth hit the hull, trying to engulf them through the glass.</p><p>Vena felt the urge to simply cry as she saw it’s rows of teeth, mere feet away, and the breaking of glass away.</p><p>But then blaster fire started to hit the creature on top of their ship. Rapid, direct blaster fire from an obvious large origin killed the creature. It dropped dead on top of the Crest, before it slid off, with another ground-shaking thud. </p><p>The Mandalorian waited no longer than seconds after the creature was dead to unbuckle himself and exit the cockpit.</p><p>Vena threw herself after him. “Hey!”</p><p>He stopped at the ladder. “No, stay here.”</p><p>She followed him down the ladder anyway. “No, Mando, where are you going?”</p><p>"It's the Rebel Alliance," he said.</p><p>"Okay, so I'm coming with, then,” she said.</p><p>The Mandalorian stopped at the hole in the ship. He raised his hand at her, stopping her, shaking his head. “Vena, no, just stay here.”</p><p>Vena smacked his hand away from her. Her brow was together, her nostrils flared, angry with his refusal to cooperate with her. <br/>
<br/>
“With our prior history with them, they probably plan on arresting your ass,” Vena snapped. “I’m not going to let that happen. I’m going with.”</p><p>"What are you going to do?" he snapped back.</p><p>"Some magic!” she barked.</p><p>Vena pushed past him and slid through the tear in the ship. She faltered at the bright headlights of the two X-Wings staring down the Crest, but she showed her opened hands, squinting her eyes through the lights until they adjusted.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>The Mandalorian followed behind her. He raised his hands briefly and half heartedly before he let them reside at his waist.</p><p>The X-Wing pilots were sitting on the hoods of their cockpits, their heavy-duty blasters lowered, now that the giant creature had died and the smaller variations had scattered off. They made no move to draw their weapons on the Mandalorian and Vena, but they certainly hadn’t greeted them warmly, either.</p><p>Vena cleared her throat. “Hi, there,” she called kindly. </p><p>Mando turned to her incredulously. "'Hi there’?”</p><p>Vena glared at him coldly. "Be nice to them before I let them arrest you."</p><p>"Hi," said the pilot, humored.</p><p>Vena and the Mandalorian whipped their heads to look at him.</p><p>"We ran the tabs on the Razor Crest,” he continued. “You have an arrest warrant for the abduction of prisoner X-Six-Nine-Eleven. However, onboard security records show that you apprehended three priority culprits from the Wanted Register. Security records also show that you put your own life in harm's way to try to protect that of Lieutenant Davan from the New Republic Correctional Corps. Is this true?”</p><p>The Mandalorian said nothing to the pilots claim. “Am I under arrest?"</p><p>"Technically, you should be," he said honestly. "But these are trying times."</p><p>"What say I forego the bounties on those three criminals, and you two help me fuse my hull so I can get off this frozen rock?" asked the Mandalorian. </p><p>"What say you fix that transponder and we don't vaprozie that antique the next time we patrol the Rim?" countered the pilot, chuckling.</p><p>Vena couldn’t exactly blame them for their denial. The Mandalorian hadn’t really done much except cause them trouble.</p><p>The other pilot shared his amusement at the Mandalorian’s request. "And you—“ he said, nudging his head at Vena. “You're off our record, lady. You might wanna rethink who you're traveling with.”</p><p>Vena nodded with a sigh. "Noted."</p><p>The X-Wing pilots lowered themselves into their cockpits. They exited through the hole in the cave’s ceiling that the Crest had fallen through.</p><p>The Mandalorian turned to Vena when the cave fell back into silence. “So much for working your magic, Vena.”</p><p>”Well, you’re not arrested, are you?” she snapped back at him. </p><p>The Mandalorian said nothing. He turned and went back into the Crest. Vena, unfortunately, had no choice except to follow him back into the ship, too. </p><p>He told them briefly he was going to repair the cockpit enough to pressurize it. They would have to remain in the cockpit together, for the rest of their travel to Trask, it would be miserable, but would have to work.</p><p>He said nothing else and he left the Frog Lady, Vena, and the Child in the cockpit while he went to work on the inside and the outside, repairing the damage, while they all just watched.</p><p>When they were finally ready to go, the Mandalorian entered the cockpit again. That time, he’d brought a number of things to hold them over while they were stuck in the cockpit. He’d also brought Vena’s backpack, and her journal. He wasn’t sure if the ramp would stay latched, he muttered, admitting he may lose anything that wasn’t strapped down in the bay. </p><p>"Thanks,” was all she said in response to him. </p><p>The Mandalorian settled into his seat and started up the Crest. It was shakier than any ship should be, it was louder than any ship should be, and it was certainly trying. He raised the ship from the floor and could not maneuver it well enough to not hit the side of the cave walls as he tried to slip through the hole in the cave ceiling they’d already created. </p><p>They rose up slowly and ascended into the blue sky of the ice planet, coaxing the Crest into flight, before the ship entered space. The ship wasn’t even flying straight through space. It flew jagged, drifting, even with the controls on autopilot. The ship creaked, practically screaming that she wanted and needed a break, but it couldn’t happen. They had to get to Trask to even repair the ship.</p><p>”Alright, well, wake me up if someone shoots at us. Or if that door gets sucked off its rails,” said the Mandalorian. He flipped a couple switches before he leaned back in his seat. “I'm kidding. If that happened, we'd all be dead. Sweet dreams."</p><p>Vena didn’t react to his attempt at a joke. Instead, she curled up in her seat and she fell asleep. For the first time since she’d been with the Mandalorian, she wished sleep to be an escape. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. The Reality</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yet again, another alarm jolted Vena and the Mandalorian awake. Their minds connected the dots quite quickly: the blue planet of Trask was in their eyesight, it was the proximity alert alarm, and they were going to be entering atmosphere soon. </p><p>“Looks like we made it,” said the Mandalorian, his voice flat, but Vena knew he was quite happy to not be in space anymore. “Get ready for landing.”</p><p>Vena looked down at the Child in her lap, who had been awakened by the alarm, too. The Frog Lady had stirred in her sleep, but she remained resting, her eyes closed. </p><p>“Uh,” uttered the Mandalorian, and Vena snapped her attention to the back of his helmet.</p><p>Her stomach sank. “What now?”</p><p>”The landing array isn't responding."</p><p>"Meaning?"</p><p>"Without the guidance system, it'll be a manual re-entry. But once we're through the atmosphere, there should be enough fuel to slow us down," he said, hopefully, before his mouth continued on past the rationalization of his brain, which was telling him to shut up. "If we don't burn to a crisp."</p><p>Vena knew he could feel the glare on the back of his helmet. </p><p>"This is another situation in which you'll just have to trust me," he muttered. </p><p>"Finding myself in these situations is wearing quite thin," Vena grumbled.</p><p>While she had time, she woke the Frog Lady and stood to hand her the Child, asking her to hold him tight and securely, with her own children. The Frog Lady's confusion came at Vena in waves, but she had no time to explain, other than pointing at the cockpit window, at the steadily approaching descent to the planet. The Frog Lady said no more. Even if the conversation needed to progress further, it couldn't have, because the Razor Crest was then sucked into the planet's gravitational pull, and Vena's lower back slammed against the console as she lost her balance with the abrupt and hard tug of the ship. </p><p>She turned her head to look through the cockpit, and no sooner, the bottom of the Crest caught immediate fire and orange, massive flames overtook the view from the cockpit. The Mandalorian was gripping the controls, grunting, trying to fight against the gravitational pull and gain some control over the ship. He wanted to tell Vena to sit down and buckle up, but when he remembered her seat had no buckle anyway, he asked for her hands.</p><p>She launched herself next to him and he grabbed her hand and put it on top of an elongated lever, telling her it needed to stay in the backwards position. Vena attached both of her hands to the lever, her feet planted, her body weight helping to pull the lever back, too. </p><p>Their heads snapped to the dashboard when a monotone voice patched through:<em> "Razor Crest, this is Trask Flight Control, please reduce your speed to port protocol."</em></p><p>"I'm trying my best here!" the Mandalorian snapped through the comm. "I'm engaging reverse thrusters. Brace!"</p><p>Vena reached a hand out to grip the Mandalorian's chair as he let go and snapped on the reverse thrusters. Though there were some mechanical grunts and groans throughout the Crest, the ship continued to drop, with no resistance, but, the flames had subdued. The expansive port city of Trask could now be seen beyond the cockpit as they fell straight down and approached it. Fast. The woman over the comm was right. If they hit the landing pad at their speed, it would prove dangerous. Destructive. More so than the ship already had suffered.</p><p>
  <em>"Razor Crest, do you copy? You have to reduce speed."</em>
</p><p>"Mando," said Vena worriedly.</p><p>"Almost there, almost there," he encouraged.</p><p>
  <em>"Razor Crest, do you copy?"</em>
</p><p>Vena risked moving her eyes from the cockpit as the tiny screen in front of his eyes, the landing array, started to blink rapidly and blink green lights at him, signfying the landing pad beneath the Crest. But they were still dropping too fast. </p><p><em>"Razor Crest, you're coming in too fast. You have to--" </em>The Mandalorian reached forward and shut the comms off.</p><p>Vena was preparing herself for the predicted head injury she was going to have when he would land—because it was always her hitting her head—but when she didn't hit anything, and the Razor Crest simply came to a jolting stop, floating in the air for a few short seconds, of its own accord, before it started to slowly land, she paused. She looked over at the Mandalorian as he lowered the Crest down, shocked that the ship did regain its control, but then she spoke too soon. No sooner than she thought so, the left engine blew, and they were thrown to the right, over the edge of the landing bay, and into the ocean below. </p><p>The Mandalorian grabbed Vena across his lap as she lost her balance with the engine's explosion. He dropped the controls and grabbed her, holding her in his lap, as she clutched onto him and stared out of the cockpit, horrified. He could feel her chest start to expand quickly, filling with panicked air, watching as the ship sank into the water, as the light got further and further, and the water became hard to see through. </p><p>"Din, I, I--"</p><p>He reached around to the back of her head and he tucked her head into his shoulder. He turned her face away from the cockpit and he hoped that she closed her eyes. He hushed her quietly, his grip on her secure, and he told her to give them a moment. Trask Flight Control weren't going to let them sink. </p><p>"What do you hear?" he whispered to her, instead. "Tell me what you hear."</p><p>"Your heart," she whispered back immediately. "Your breathing."</p><p>"And?"</p><p>"The Baby. The Frog Lady."</p><p>"Stay within the ship," he told her, when she paused, trying to hear more.</p><p>He didn't want her to focus on anything else. The ocean would terrify her, if she were to know about the large and lurking creatures that lived beneath the water. She hated the giant creature they met on the ice planet and she hated the Krayt Dragon. He didn't need her to know about any other large creatures. </p><p>"You're gonna lose everything in the bay," she whispered. </p><p>He shrugged. He noticed his hand start to rub circles on her back and she noticed the calming effect of it. </p><p>Although he hadn't wanted her to hear beyond the ship, she had started to listen, and she perked up when she heard a mechanical whirring diving through the water. A claw attached to the Crest with a distinct and echoing thud and then they all braced as the Crest was pulled up and out of the water. They were dropped onto the landing platform, eliciting groans between all of them as the ship was jostled, again, but once they were on steady land, they couldn't have left the Crest faster. </p><p>Vena snatched the Child, the Mandalorian grabbed the cradle, the Frog Lady set her eggs on her back, and all three of them dashed down the ladder and through the slippery, wet bay. Vena didn't bother trying to pad down the ramp. She fell to her bottom and slid down the smooth ramp, the Child throwing his hands up, the short way down until her boots hit the pavement and she stood again. She and the Child watched impatiently as the Mandalorian and the Frog Lady carefully stepped down the slippery ramp. </p><p>"How can I help you?"</p><p>Vena turned. It was a Mon Calamari, dressed in a knit sweater and overalls. He looked relatively unimpressed by the poor condition of the Razor Crest. All she felt from him were feelings of annoyance and she was sure that was a usual, central feeling for him. </p><p>The Mandalorian stood next to her. "Can you fix it?"</p><p>"Nah," said the Mon Calamari bluntly. "But I can make it fly."</p><p>The Mandalorian handed him some coins. "Do what you can."</p><p>"I'll fuel it up." </p><p>Vena nudged the Mandalorian, pointing to the Frog Lady as she set off into the crowded streets of Trask quickly, high-pitched squeaks coming from her mouth, her big and wide eyes searching across the crowd. They followed her from a distance as she searched clearly for her husband. When she squealed and took off into the crowd, Vena couldn't help the grin that stretched across her face, exciting to see her and her husband reunite. The first thing the two did after hug was examine their eggs together, squeaking and squealing, and Vena held her hand over her heart as she felt genuine, absolute love rip through her from the two together in close proximity. </p><p>"You okay?" asked the Mandalorian worriedly. </p><p>Vena looked over at him, then down at where she was clutching her chest. "Oh. Oh, yeah. Yes. Just--" she turned and nodded at the couple, only a few feet ahead. "--so cute. So sweet."</p><p>He realized then how resounding she had felt the Frog Couple's love. He wondered to what degree she could feel his interest in her. Or how she felt it. He wanted to know if it came off as lust, or affection, or generally how Vena could feel and interpret the feelings he couldn't always mask from her. Maybe hearing it through her would help him come to terms with what he felt for her. But, first, he knew he would have to apologize for how his words came out to her, on the ice planet, before the giant monster attack. He knew her feelings were hurt, rightfully so, and he had waited the entire trip to Trask to be able to talk with her about it and think about what to say, how she meant it. He hated how he needed time to think and to analyze his interactions with her, to understand. He wished he wasn't so difficult to be with.</p><p>"Hey," she said, suddenly, his feelings of resentment reaching and subtly alerting her. Her brow was together. "What's on your mind?"</p><p>The Frog Man's hand intercepted between where the two of them stood. Their heads turned, their conversation ended, their formalities turned on as the Frog Man made himself known and grateful for the safe delivery of his wife and their children. </p><p>"You're welcome," said the Mandalorian kindly. "I was told you could lead me to others of my kind."</p><p>The Frog Man turned and pointed behind them, to an inn. It looked quite busy, from what they could peak at through the swinging doors. But there Frog Man guided them all to the inn, walking rather confidently straight through the doors with no resolve.</p><p>There were dark wooden tables pushed along the walls, all set to sit underneath a system along the ceiling that, Vena noticed, would bring chowder through a pipe directly to the table. She squinted suspiciously at the contraption, intrigued and weary of it. </p><p>"What?" asked the Mandalorian. </p><p>Vena had get better at hiding her reactions. He was consistently noticing her. But, he was also rarely not looking at her. </p><p>"Uh, hungry," she muttered, opening her eyes. "Weird contraption there."</p><p>"We'll get you both something to eat, soon," he promised, looking at Vena and down at the Child.</p><p>He rested his hand along the small of her back and guided her forward as the Frog Man passed them off to another Mon Calamari who worked at the inn. He waved them over to a table towards the center of the dimly lit room. In passing, the Mandalorian and Vena thanked the Frog Couple, and said quick goodbyes. Vena wished them both luck with their children before she joined the Mandalorian at the table. </p><p>"What can I get you?" asked the Mon Calamari.</p><p>"Nothing for me," said the Mandalorian. "But two bowls of chowder for my friends."</p><p>"These seats are scarce, buddy. Everyone seated needs to eat."</p><p>"I can buy something else," he said, pushing a bag of credits forward and across the table. "Information."</p><p>The Mon Calamari looked around, ensuring the busy status of the inn, and with no eyes on him, he slipped the credits into his pocket and stepped closer to their table. </p><p>"Have you seen others that look like me?" the Mandalorian asked. </p><p>The Mon Calamari pulled the soup spout down from where it hung above their table and started to fill two bowls for the Child and for Vena. The whirring noise of the machine muffled the Mon Calamari's words: "Others with Beskar have been through here."</p><p>"Who can take me to them?"</p><p>"I know someone who might help."</p><p>As the Mon Calamari made his way slowly and subtly across the room to a few Quarren and Mon Calamari, Vena and the Mandalorian took their eyes off of him. The Mandalorian watched the Child reach for the spoon in front of him and start to peer over his bowl, readying himself to eat, once he noticed that Vena wasn’t going to feed him. </p><p>She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until the smell of warm soup hit her nose and she dove right into the food, ducking her head low and shoveling the soup into her mouth. </p><p>The Mandalorian didn’t bother to ask her to get a feel for the possible deception of the Mon Calamari or the Quarren he was in talks with. <br/><br/>Vena paused as she felt panic slam into her, from her right side, and she glanced over, the spoon still in her mouth. She did a double-take when she saw a little squid on the Child’s face. Her spoon clattered from her mouth as she reached out and flicked the squid, subduing it, and it leapt from his face and fell to the floor. </p><p>Her face flushed with embarrassment as others looked over to see the commotion at their table.</p><p>“Mando!” she sighed, after she checked over the Child and ensured he was fine.</p><p>"Don't play with your food," he chastised, thinking that’s what she wanted.</p><p>Vena glared at him. “You couldn’t watch him for two minutes while I tried to eat?”</p><p>“Well, I—“</p><p>”Nevermind,” she muttered.</p><p>She grabbed the Child from his booster seat and scooted his soup in front of her bowl. She made him stand to eat, and she ate around him, but she didn’t want to risk anything worse. Apparently she couldn’t take her eyes off of him to eat, now, either. </p><p>The Mandalorian wanted to talk to her, noticing her frustration at him, but he couldn’t. He was forced to forget about Vena and the Child when the Quarren sat down at their table, with no introduction, no warning. He glanced at Vena, but when she raised her eyes at him, looking agitated and bothered, he averted his gaze. For once, Vena looked naturally mean to the innocent bystander. He was rather proud.</p><p>"You seek others of your kind?" he asked the Mandalorian.</p><p>"Have you seen them?"</p><p>"Aye. I can bring you to them," he said, chuckling at the eagerness of the Mandalorian. <br/><br/>Vena rolled her eyes. As if she hadn’t met cocky men all her life, who moved slow and assuredly, trying to assert their dominance and power. She saw through it. </p><p>"Where?"</p><p>"Only a few hours' sail. It’ll cost you though."</p><p>But the Mandalorian didn’t care. He tossed over the credits, at the first number the Quarren threw out, and then they were on a boat.</p><p>Vena was sick out of her mind.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> She was gripping the edge of the rail, her knuckles discolored, her brow furrowed and her chest raising and falling staggered, incomplete.</span></p><p>The Mandalorian stood closely beside her. He wanted to reach and hold her, as if that would help, but she just looked so sick. He had nothing to say to help her. They stepped foot on the boat and she already looked sick. If the Quarren was right, she would have to be sick for a few hours.</p><p>Stupidly, he asked her if she was okay.</p><p>”I think I need to pick a climate and stick to it,” she told him, glancing up at him. “Hated the snow. Hated the desert. The ocean makes me sick.”</p><p>“Focus on something else,” he offered. </p><p>Vena turned and set her back against the railing. She turned back when she realized she could still see the ocean from across the ship and ended up just staring at the Mandalorian’s dark visor. <br/><br/>“Inescapable,” she said. “The ocean is everywhere.” </p><p>He chuckled. “Close your eyes then.”</p><p>Vena did as he said. She still gripped onto the railing for balance, as she felt so unstable with the waves crashing beneath her feet. She thought about the boat they were on. She could feel where the other working Quarren were, on the ship, see them in proximity to her, somewhat feel them. She couldn’t think very well outside of her alarming nausea in her stomach, so she couldn’t feel them as clearly as she wanted to, but she felt enough to tell the Mandalorian.</p><p>”I don’t trust them,” she told him softly. </p><p>"Neither do I,” he said. In an effort to help her mind settle, he asked, “Hal, are we okay?”</p><p>She turned to him. It worked. Her eyes softened, her brow softened, too, and she shook her head. “What?”</p><p>”Are we okay?” he asked again. “I know I hurt your feelings—“</p><p>“I know you didn’t mean to,” she muttered, turning away from him. “Haven’t had time to decipher Din-Speak.”</p><p>He frowned. “But you shouldn’t have to do that,” he said sadly. “I should be able to communicate better.”</p><p>”It’s okay,” Vena said. “I bet all your girlfriends have had to do it, yeah?”</p><p>”Wouldn’t know,” he said. “But you knew that, didn’t you?”</p><p>Vena laughed. ”’Course I did. You don’t seem like you like many people.”</p><p>”Is it that obvious?” he sighed playfully. <br/><br/>“Yes,” she chuckled. She nudged her arm into his. “But I enjoy it. I’m happy you like me. I feel somewhat honored that you enjoy my company.” </p><p>He nodded. He hoped she could guess his small smile. “I’m just sorry, Hal. I’m trying.”</p><p>”I know,” she told him, and she reached over and grabbed the outer fingers of his hand. She smiled up at him. “You don’t have to apologize to me. Just gotta give me some time to decipher and think in terms of your language.”</p><p>”Oh, so I don’t speak Basic now?” he teased.</p><p>Vena dramatically shook her head. “Absolutely not. You speak a sub-sub-sub variant of Basic called Mandalorian-Tryingtoflirt-Din dialect. And only I can decipher it.”</p><p>”Yeah?”</p><p>She smiled up at him. ”Yes.”</p><p>“You two ever see a Mamacore eat?”</p><p>Vena and the Mandalorian turned their heads, both of their gazes narrowing and hardening upon the unwanted presence. He was pretty proud of her, for how quickly her persona changed and hardened in front of other people. She was listening to his advice; feign confidence, have confidence, look mean. </p><p>The Quarren looked between them. “Quite a sight.” </p><p>The Mandalorian looked down at Vena, she looked up him, in return, both of them projecting and interpreting each other’s feelings and facial expressions to make a decision. Vena’s eyes flickered out to the ocean once more, noticing that the port city was now a speck in the distance. It wasn’t a coincidence that they’d ignored them until they were far out into the ocean.  </p><p>"Child might take an interest,” said the Quarren. </p><p>The Mandalorian sighed, irritated, but nodded his head along and he and Vena followed the Quarren. It was not a secret they were suspicious of the Quarren, and it was not a secret the Quarren wanted them to look for reasons beyond the creature. </p><p>They stood in the middle of the boat. A few Quarren were cranking open the grate in the center of the floor, sliding a panel open, sliding the metal grate open to see the blue waves beneath the boat. </p><p>Vena stood far from the opening. The Child, in his pod, crawled to the edge of his pod to see the water. The Mandalorian stood on the other side of the Child’s pod. </p><p>The Quarren moved from standing beside the Mandalorian. He walked behind Vena, as she tried to track him with her hearing, but when he moved to her left side, she couldn’t openly turn to watch him. She moved her eyes as far to the left as she could go without moving her head, noticing he grabbed a large hook, before he entered her eyesight again. He stood next to her and raised the hook into the air, swinging a net filled with dead fish out and over the open crate. He dragged the hook, splitting open the net. Hundreds of dead fish fell into the water. </p><p>Bubbles immediately swarmed the water. Vena looked over at the Child as he leaned out of his pod to see, but she pushed his head down lightly, forcing him to sit on his bottom.</p><p>"She must be hungry," said the Quarren.</p><p>Vena had to turn her head to him to hear him. She knew he noticed her furrowed brow, noticed her exaggerated struggle to hear, and she turned her head back to the water, her face flushed. </p><p>"Often times we'll feed her in the early morning, but we missed that 'cause we were going out of port--" </p><p>Vena grabbed the hook with her hand as it swung up to hit her. It was instinct. She hadn’t heard him move, but she saw the hook enter her vision and her hand moved in front of her face to stop it. She turned to the Quarren, her eyes wide, but he expected it, and before she could realize anything else, some other object smashed into the back of her head and she was thrown to the floor. </p><p>Someone else had knocked the Baby’s pod over the water. Something happened, something she couldn’t see, but she recognized the sound of someone flying into the water, and knew it was the Mandalorian diving after the Child. </p><p>"Lock it up! Go, go!"</p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">Vena felt a number of things. Pain, in her head, after being knocked in the head more in her life with the Mandalorian than ever before. Nausea in her stomach from being on that stupid boat. Rage, first and foremost, at the Quarren who underestimated her and who had no idea what she was about to do with the pain she had to convert into motivation.  </span>
</p><p>Her vision was still blurry. But she used her senses and her hearing to accommodate for it.</p><p>Vena stuck her foot between the Quarren’s open legs and kicked his feet out from under him. His hook clattered to the floor. Vena threw her body on top of him, throwing her fists down into the soft flesh of his face and his tentacles. She punched until his arms stopped flailing at her and then she threw her hand out, drawing the hook to her opened hand. She pushed herself up and shoved the blunt end to the Quarren’s face, a few times, grunting through the feeling of his bone against the end, the resistance, repeatedly striking him--</p><p>Arms grabbed her. Vena lost grip of the hook. Two Quarren were on either side of her, her arms grabbed and restrained. She kicked and screamed, resisting both of them.  </p><p>She quieted when she heard the Mandalorian screaming her name and she stopped struggling for a moment to see where he was. When she saw him, his gloved hands clutching onto the grate, his helmet pressed against the closed grate, Vena’s rage only heightened. </p><p>Focusing, more, as she realized they were dragging her across the ship to throw her overboard, Vena opened the palms of her hands and pushed. She pushed hard, with focus and a yell, and the three of them blew backwards as a force slammed into them and resisted their intended path. </p><p>Vena fell to her back. She remained on the floor when she heard blaster fire, when a jetpack soared across her vision, because she knew, momentarily, she was saved. She pushed herself up when the two Quarren beside her were shot.</p><p>There were three Mandalorian’s. None of them landed near her, though they had saved her with precise aim. While they were busy fighting the rest of the ship, Vena reached out with her power and grabbed the lever, pulling it, opening the grate. </p><p>With the grate opened, the Mandalorian closest to it reached down and offered her hand into the water. Her Mandalorian was pulled up onto the boat, coughing and sputtering. He fell on his bottom on the floor of the boat, his hand pointing out at the water.</p><p>"There was a creature! It has the Child!" he yelled. </p><p>"On it!" said one of the Mandalorian’s, and she dove into the ocean below without a second thought.  </p><p>The Mandalorian who helped him from the water helped him to stand, as he coughed and coughed, but he ignored her wholly, looking for Vena. She was rushing forward to him. He grabbed her around her shoulders and she around his waist and they both spoke over each other, asking if the other was okay, alright. They both ended up not answering, as they were both clearly alive, and instead they turned to the open water below them, Vena’s face portraying worry. </p><p>"Don’t worry,” said the Mandalorian with the Owl helmet. “We’ve got this."</p><p>Moments later, a jetpack clad Mandalorian shot up from the water with the Child’s pod in her arms. Vena fell to her knees the minute the pod was placed on the ground. It was crushed. Bent inward. She could feel him, though, his absolute fear and his presence projecting so clearly to her; him trying to let her know through their bond that he was okay and wanted them. </p><p>Vena ripped open the pod. Effortlessly, it looked like, and maybe it was. She didn’t think about where the strength she used to rip open the pod because the Child needed her and that was the only thought in her brain. <br/><br/>She grabbed him from the pod. With him tightly in her arms and his fingers clutching to her, she stepped closer to the Mandalorian, who put a hand on the Child thankfully, and a hand on Vena protectively. </p><p>"Thank you," said the Mandalorian. He was breathless. "I've been searching for more of our kind."</p><p>"Well, lucky we found you first,” said the Owl helmet. </p><p>Vena’s residual rage was dying down with every second she felt the Mandalorian and the Child’s hands on her. She was better. Levelheaded, and finally able to observe the three in front of her.</p><p>They looked so different than her Mandalorian’s. Either of the ones she knew so intimately. The one she had known before wore white armor, like the Stormtroopers. The one she knew now, grey, and the three she was meeting then wore dark blues and browns, all with vambraces, helmets, utility belts, like her Mandalorian, but their helmets were customily made, it seemed.</p><p>It was clear two of them reported to the woman in the Owl painted helmet. Not only by the way the woman in the Owl helmet stood, tall, her voice commanding, but by the way the other two stood protectively at her side. She was important. Had to be.</p><p>"I've been quested to deliver this Child,” said the Mandalorian. “I was hoping that..."</p><p>At the sound of the hiss of a helmet coming off, the Mandalorian trailed off completely. He watched them in shock, in defeat, as the leader took off her hlemet and then the others followed, holding their helmets at their hips.</p><p>Vena sighed.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> So maybe they were an important trio, to Mandalorian’s, but not anymore to hers. She glanced up at him worriedly.</span></p><p><span class="Apple-converted-space">He ignored Vena’s stare. </span>"Where did you get that armor?"</p><p>Their leader raised an eyebrow, while the other two exchanged glances. </p><p>"This armor has been in my family for three generations,” said the woman, chuckling a little. </p><p>"You do not cover your face. You are not Mandalorian."</p><p>The woman behind their leader rolled her eyes.</p><p>It was the man who said it, and it was not happily: "He's one of them."</p><p>Vena’s eyes flickered between them curiously. She thought about what she had told him, back on Sorgan, that the Mandalorian she knew and others she had seen through her life never followed the helmet rule so closely. But whether the Mandalorian was ignorant to the ideologies of other Mandalorians or he knew and still didn’t accept it, Vena had no idea. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> <br/></span></p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">Regardless, the fact remained: there <em>was</em> a different way. One he could not deny. And it made Vena wonder, if the helmet rule varied between Mandalorian Coverts, then, did the Jedi only fight with certain Coverts? If the Mandalorian’s and the Jedi were not truly enemies, or if it was strained history? If there was another way... would he consider it?</span>
</p><p>"One of what?" snapped the Mandalorian. </p><p>His anger filtered through her and the Child. She glanced up at him worriedly, like she never had before, because he might have had too much faith him self. At least, with Cobb Vanth, Cobb somewhat feared the Mandalorian and was relatively eased into parting with the armor. These were real Mandalorians. They’d shown themselves to be strategic, fierce fighters, and not only did they outnumber him, but the Mandalorian had no quarrels about trying to take them on, it seemed. Only his belief in his Creed and an entitlement to that.</p><p>The woman tried, anyway, to reason with him. "I am Bo-Katan of Clan Kryze. I was born on Mandalore and fought in the Purge. I am the last of my line," she told him carefully. "And you are a Child of the Watch."</p><p>She was telling the truth. Vena knew it, based on Bo’s feelings, but somewhere inside of him, the Mandalorian knew it too. He’d heard that term before, somewhere in his memory, but he repeated it and asked anyway. </p><p>Bo continued: "Children of the Watch are a cult of religious zealots that broke away from Mandalorian society. Their goal was to re-establish the Ancient Way."</p><p>Vena kept her face still. Her mind was running through thoughts as fast as lightning, with the new information, because it was the truth. Maybe Bo’s words were exaggerated, sure, but her feelings were not fake. They couldn’t be. Those who were unaware of Vena’s powers could never hide their intentions. </p><p>"There is only one Way,” disagreed the Mandalorian. He wanted to hear no more of it. "The Way of the Mandalore."</p><p>Vena didn’t have time to do anything but squeal softly as he grabbed her in his arms and shot them up into the sky. He left the Mandalorian trio behind, no thanks, no nothing, except residual jetpack fuel. </p><p>She didn’t say anything to him when he landed them back on the city port of Trask. Right back where they started. All of the creepy creatures, freezing on an ice planet, a broken ship—for nothing except frustration from both of them. The Mandalorian beating himself up over a dead-end, Vena for him denying help on their journey. She questioned his endgame. That was two Mandalorian run-in’s, now, and a whole lot of mess for little reward, other than him keeping to his Creed.  </p><p>But she kept her mouth shut, because she knew if she let herself go, she couldn’t keep her frustration from him. At least, verbally. She was sure her feelings were evident by the blankness on her face. The furrow of her brow, if he looked hard enough at her. <br/><br/>He didn’t need her feelings then, or her thoughts. He was shaken, she felt, because he didn’t hide it from her. Whether it was from almost losing the Child, or the Mandalorian’s, or both, Vena wasn’t sure. But his brain was loud with commotion, with thought, the entire way from the ocean to the land, and more once he set Vena and the Child down. </p><p>She left him alone. She sat down on the dock, her legs swinging above the crashing water. The Child was in her lap. He stood and he leaned on her chest, his hands still touching her, clutching her, really. She held onto him tightly.</p><p>“You’re alright, baby,” she whispered to him, rocking him softly. “I’ve got you. Mando does. No one’s going to take you away from us.” </p><p>Vena rocked him and assured him until he fell asleep. His little tears dried against his wrinkled green skin. She held him and listened to his thoughts, his dreams. She saw the Mandalorian, again, and herself, the three of them just together. He rarely dreamed about much else. That’s all the Child ever wanted; the three of them together, safe.</p><p>But that wasn’t reality very often. </p><p>“Hey!” shouted a voice behind them. <br/><br/>Vena heard heavy footsteps. A Quarren, she knew, by the shifting of weight between his feet. She turned her head and saw a small crowd of Quarren approaching her. Her eyes scanned around her, looking for the Mandalorian. He had distanced himself rather far from them, but as he heard the shouting, he started to return to Vena’s side. </p><p>The Quarren was angry. Although he shouted for Vena’s attention, he all but forgot about her when the Mandalorian entered his gaze. </p><p>“You killed my brother.”</p><p>Vena stood. She held the sleeping Child in one arm, her hip and him turned away from the action, while her other stayed set casually on her waist, by her blaster. She knew they saw her action. It was not a secret. They sought the Mandalorian and Vena out for vengeance.</p><p>”Care like mediating?” muttered the Mandalorian softly, his hands hooked on his belt. </p><p>The Quarren spoke again before Vena could respond. "You killed my brother and now I’m  gonna kill your lady and your pet.”</p><p>The Baby whimpered, causing the Mandalorian and Vena to look down at him. By the time they readjusted their gaze, back to the crowd of Quarren’s wanting to kill the three of them, the Mandalorian’s led by Bo-Katan appeared behind them. </p><p>Bo’s voice was more menancing through her helmets filter. "He didn’t kill your brother. I did." </p><p>Synchronized, they drew their weapons and shot the small crowd dead in a matter of seconds. It was done before Vena had even had a chance to think about reaching for her gun. She was shocked, momentarily, her jaw falling open as they killed them without so much as a fight. When she remembered who she was surrounded by—a relatively violent collection of people—she closed her mouth, hoping her shock was subtle and covered quickly. </p><p>"Can we at least buy you a drink?" asked Bo.</p><p>Vena spoke before the Mandalorian could. “If he says no, I’m taking it.”</p><p>Bo chuckled and nodded. She led the group into the same inn they’d inhabited before, with the soup spouts. It was dead in there, surprisingly, and the Mon Calamari from before waved them lazily over to a table in the far back, far from the entrance, secluded.</p><p>Vena, the Mandalorian, and the Child sat on one side of the round table. Bo and her crew sat on the other. Their helmets came off simultaneously as they sat down and set them on the table. Vena couldn’t help but admire the paint jobs in front of her, which, by the swelling sense of pride exerting from all three of them, she assumed was something they often dealt with.</p><p>"I'm Vena," she offered, since she knew her Mandalorian would say little to nothing. She smiled warmly. “Nice to meet you all officially."</p><p>Bo smiled too, rather genuinely, for how stoic she seemed to be. “Bo-Katan,” she introduced again. </p><p>"Koska," said the woman beside her. </p><p>"Axe,” said the man with a nod. </p><p>Vena’s eyes flickered over to the Mandalorian and then down to the Child in her lap. “Mando and Baby.”</p><p>Bo looked between the Togruta and the Mandalorian, amused. “You always do all the talking?"</p><p>"Well, once of us has to be nice," said Vena, shrugging.</p><p>“I’ll cut straight to it, then, for his sake,” said Bo. She cut through the pleasantries, which Vena was also quite grateful for. "Trask is a black market port. They're staging weapons that have been bought and sold with the plunders of our planet. We're seizing those weapons and using them to retake our home world. Once we've done that, we'll seat a new Mandalore on the throne."</p><p>"That planet is cursed," said the Mandalorian dismissively. "Anyone who goes there dies. Once the Empire knew they couldn’t control it, they made sure no one else could either."</p><p>Something in his words sounded rehearsed, to Vena’s ears. He assumed so quickly, so knowingly. </p><p>"Don’t believe everything you hear,” said Bo, and Vena knew they shared the same train of thought. “Our enemies want to separate us. But Mandalorian’s are stronger together."</p><p>”And who exactly are your enemies?” Vena cut in casually. She tried to look casual. Like she wanted information, casual information. Casual.</p><p>”Right now,” said Bo, her eyes flickering briefly to Vena, but remaining on the Mandalorian’s visor. “Just the Empire.”</p><p>The Mandalorian turned his helmet to linger on Vena. She denied his gaze, his nonverbal cue signaling for her to back down and let him talk. </p><p>"That's not part of my plan,” said the Mandalorian, turning back to Bo. </p><p>Vena resisted the urge she had to look over incredulously at him. They did have a pressing matter, of course, with the Child, they couldn’t just decide to rebuild a planet on a whim, but he had been looking for other Mandalorian’s, and they’d found three. Three that were of a different following, but he hadn’t specified in any sense beforehand. His own Covert was probably gone, dead, or hidden. And despite not growing up there, Mandalore was the home planet of his people. And he felt nothing? No urge to help?</p><p>Vena felt the urge to help and all Mandalorian’s had ever done was given her a headache. </p><p>"I’ve been quested with returning this child to the Jedi,” said the Mandalorian factly. </p><p>Bo-Katan’s face moved minutely. Curiosity struck through her. Her eyes softened. "What do you know of the Jedi?" she asked.</p><p>"Nothing," said the Mandalorian.</p><p>Vena focused greatly on remaining steady. Natural. She kept her eyes on Bo, like she normally would, if they were having a regular conversation. To them, they were. But to Vena, they were seconds away from finding a name, a path, <em>her</em> path. Everything crazy that had happened to get to the point she was at now, waiting for Bo to tell her about the Jedi, was worth it. Vena was scared. But ready to know. </p><p>"I was hoping you would help me by Creed,” he continued awkwardly.</p><p>Vena watched Bo recline a bit in her seat, look to Axe, then to Koska. An amused smirk lifted her lip. She shrugged nonchalantly.</p><p>"I can lead you to one of their kind," she said, and Vena didn't miss the way her eyes lingered on the montrals a top her head.<span class="Apple-converted-space"><br/></span></p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">“A friendly?” Vena clarified. <br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">Bo raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “Yes.” <br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">Vena opened her mouth to ask more of it, but grief slammed through her so suddenly and so quickly, that she couldn’t help the way her head snapped to its source: the Mandalorian. He already had his helmet to her, and at the somewhat angry, but confused twist of her face, he cleared his throat and tore his attention from her. </span>
</p><p>She didn’t mean to, but she kept staring at him. She couldn’t figure out why they were <em>both</em> upset to hear the confirmation. Some part of her knew leaving him would be difficult, but she didn’t know how horrible he felt about it. He must have had a premonition that she was going to leave too, along with the Baby.</p><p>Their audience was respectfully quiet as the two had their awkward exchange. The suspicion from them to the Togruta and the Mandalorian across the table was evident, though they said and did nothing about it except watched.</p><p>Bo cleared her throat. Vena’s eyes blinked, hard, and she tore her eyes from the Mandalorian. He kept his helmet somewhat down at the table. </p><p>"First, we need your help on our mission," said Bo. </p><p>His head lifted. "Mission?" </p><p>Bo raised her brow. Vena wondered if their distain towards the Mandalorian because of his following, and his returned irritation, caused her to ask for actual aid or just a challenge. Bo looked over at Vena, too, including her in her proposal wordlessly. Vena nodded slightly. <br/><br/>They were to meet at dawn, Bo decided, and she gave them a docking bay number. Bo was the only one to smile at Vena. The others ignored her, only giving their nods to the Mandalorian beside her. They were polite, albeit hard-headed and stern people, which Vena was beginning to see all Mandalorian’s as. She and her crew bid them farewell directly after the information was exchanged.</p><p>With their table mates gone, the Mandalorian and Vena sat in silence. Still on the same side of the table, neither of them looked over to the other. </p><p>Their minds were racing.</p><p>At first, with the silence, Vena didn’t think much about him. She couldn’t believe it was coming true— the secondary reason she’d joined them, to find the Jedi, and now they knew someone who knew a Jedi. It set reality back into her bones. A happy reality, with a future and some answers in her future, but a secondary one, too: leaving the Mandalorian behind. </p><p>Which, clearly, he was having a hard time with thinking about, too. His grief was evident to her because he was going to lose the Child, but he assumed she would leave as well. It was better for him to assume than for her to tell him. Less heartbreaking.</p><p>It was no secret the thought of their separation hurt her feelings, too. Both of them, for whatever reason, thought they’d have more time together. To do what? That remained to be seen, especially with the consistent rifts in their relationship, the lying Vena was doing, the game the Mandalorian was trying to play with her. They were operating on tragic time, anyway. A friendship with an end, an end that was now in sight, and they both assumed in less than a few weeks, they would be saying goodbye to not only the Kid, but each other. </p><p>Things had changed so quickly. Just a few weeks ago, when the Krayt Dragon almost killed him and she wished for more time, she wished for his importance in her life to remain, and now the end was near. She wanted to be satisfied with the time they had left because it was almost over, but there wasn’t much she could do. With his Creed, her secret, and their untimely end, anyway, blockades stopped them from any further step in their relationship. </p><p>Ultimately, there was nothing to do. They knew of the others infatuation. But, because noting had been done, nothing could be done. That was just it. </p><p>He stood abruptly, startling Vena out of her thoughts. He wanted to go back to the ship. He started to walk from her. </p><p>Vena rushed after him. "We can't find somewhere else to stay?" she asked hopefully. "The ship isn't exactly at its best right now, Mando, I--"</p><p>"Well, then, you can stay at an inn if you want."</p><p>She stopped in her place. Under the dimmed street lights, she stopped, and he heard the silence set in behind him, causing him to turn back to face her. Her face was blank. They were alone in the street, feet away, her heartbroken gaze on him.</p><p>He sighed. He didn’t need her to say it for him to know it was his turn to speak, to explain. “I... I just need some time to think.” </p><p>"Then what do you want? Do you want me to leave you alone?" she asked him honestly. </p><p>He looked at her, truly looked at her, the worry on her face, and how she was not bothered by the fact that he wanted to push her away from him. She asked what he wanted. Ignored his rude remark to her, just to see how he wanted to handle his own stupid emotions. </p><p>"No," he said.</p><p>Vena waited for him to find some words. She was patient with him, as she always was. </p><p>"I just have a lot on my mind,” he said blankly.</p><p>"I know," she muttered thoughtfully, feeling the same way.</p><p>She couldn’t help but wonder if maybe they did need some time apart, to think, but they were also on a planet where they’d been almost murdered twice, so, perhaps then wasn’t the best time to suggest some space. Instead, she asked him to stay at the inn down the street with her. She offered him his own room, beside hers, maybe, if he did want space. </p><p>"But let’s just rest okay? It’s been a long few days,” she finished softly. “Does that sound okay?”</p><p>He agreed, and Vena waited no longer to turn and start towards the inn. It was dark and humid in there, quite miserable, honestly, but she was quick through their check in, handing over her own money instead of asking the Mandalorian. He denied her request for two rooms, a gruff, “One is fine,” to the Mon Calamari at the desk, and then one key was handed to them and they went for their room. </p><p>Vena allowed the Child to run loose once the door was closed. She briefly looked out the window, listening to the crashing waves against the dock below, watching splashes of water hit against the window. She did so to avoid the mistake in their asking for one room... One bed. <br/><br/>It was a mistake to continue sleeping in the same bed. On one hand, she didn’t want to make a big deal of it, as to not disrupt their status quo, but on the other, she fretted how the Mandalorian would react to it. He seemed tense. Maybe not with her, alone, and she hadn’t sensed any feelings of regret from him. At least not yet. But she didn’t want to keep acting in a way that would make it harder for him to deal with her leaving.</p><p>Vena told him she was going to take a shower herself, then bathe the Baby. He nodded at her, but ultimately, through her washing herself and the Baby, changing their clothes, and putting him to sleep in the middle of the bed, the Mandalorian only sat in the armchair by the window and stared out of it. His emotions were muddled. He wasn’t muffling his feelings towards her, either. Maybe he didn’t have the energy to. </p><p>Vena couldn’t sit there with the Child asleep and do nothing. She didn’t want to sleep. She had no urge to sleep, not when the Mandalorian was feeling so openly and heavily that he was almost inviting her to ask about it. </p><p>She sighed quietly. She left the Child behind in bed, then took a seat on the ottoman in front of the Mandalorian’s knees. The squish of the cushion underneath her weight turned his head toward her. His hands went from holding the chairs arms and into his lap, fiddling with his hands nervously. His shoulders came forward, his head dropped. </p><p>Vena assessed the way he held himself in front of her gaze and second-guessed her decision to try to talk to him. She frowned, her fingers twitching to reach out and for his hand. <br/><br/>“You’re waiting for me to talk, I suppose,” he mumbled softly. </p><p>Vena shook her head. “Well, no, not if you don’t want to,” she said. She reached forward and ran her fingers down his helmet. “You’re just loud in here, my dear.” <br/><br/>“Sorry.”</p><p>“No need.”</p><p>“I owe it to you to be honest and open," he said, and she frowned, knowing part of his words was a jab to her. “Back when we were on that ice planet, I didn’t mean to cause you offense. You know I didn’t, a-and I’m happy you feel the way you do, Hala, truly. I’m sorry that I couldn’t find the right words to tell you, but... I... I don’t know, I still... I wish you had never gone through any of what you did. That’s why it made me upset, because all of what you’ve gone through, it’s not worth me, not worth what I can’t give you—“</p><p>“That’s not up to you to decide,” she told him softly. “It’s not up to you to decide what gives my life meaning or what I think is worth my time. I know what you’re saying, I hear you. And I understand. But I did go through it and without it, I would never have found you. That’s all I was trying to say.” </p><p>“I know that. And I was thinking about that, too, and I think you’re right. My life would have been substantially different if I hadn’t gone through what I did. I would never have been Mandalorian, I would never have found you or the Kid.” </p><p>“Right,” said Vena encouragingly. </p><p>“And I know without what I went through, I wouldn’t have saved the Kid,” he admitted to her softly, somewhat ashamed.</p><p>“But you did,” said Vena.</p><p>“And about Bo-Katan,” he continued, deciding to continue, because he had cohesive thoughts while she was sitting in front of him, finally. "My parents were killed and my people were slaughtered on Aq Vetina by the Separatist Droids. I was rescued by the people Bo-Katan calls Death Watch."</p><p>"Droids killed my parents, too," Vena said, trying to relate to him, disclosing some sensitive information to him in return. She paused. "Well, actually, I don't know if they killed them. But it was droids that separated us. My whole community."</p><p>"You went back, though," he said incredulously, shaking his head. "You went back to Kiros, where you lost your whole life. Why?"</p><p>"Because..." she paused as she thought of an answer. It was instinct. A feeling. Just like she had felt every time she left a planet, like she felt when they left. "I was drawn there. Like I would find answers there, if I went."</p><p>"So what did you find?"</p><p>“Peace, for a little bit, just like you did,” she admitted to him; something she knew. “I was reminded of what happened, yes, but I think I needed to be back on that planet to know I’ve understood some of its necessity in my life. It was my home, somewhere so deep in my memory, and I never had the urge to go back there or rekindle with the Togrutas, because I never felt like I’d fit back in there. I’d been gone too long, seen too much, to go back to that planet. I wanted to keep exploring. That’s why I’d never fit back in. I just had to keep moving. Keep going.” </p><p>“Trying to find somewhere you belong,” he guessed. </p><p>Vena wished she knew. She wanted to agree and tell herself that was the reason she kept moving along, to belong, instead of fear of the Empire. Maybe it was. But if she was being honest, she had no explanation. Only a feeling. A feeling that he wouldn’t understand, anyway, so she smiled and nodded for him.</p><p>”And you?” she asked. “Maybe you don’t go back to Aq Ventina, but Mandalore is still something, it seems.”</p><p>He shrugged. "I spent my whole upbringing being told Mandalore was where Mandalorian's went to die. You don’t go to Mandalore unless you’re crazy. That’s why my people ran, to try to live, to keep living and raising children and keeping the Mandalorian race alive. It’s why we kept our helmets on, to try to survive, stay hidden. I've not taken this helmet off since I was a child."</p><p>Vena thought about his final statement. She was transported back, to Nevarro, when he split open the back of his head, she saw all the blood pouring from his head under his helmet. She remembered telling him his helmet was going to have to be taken off to save him, but he denied. Yet, he had survived.</p><p>"What?" he asked her.</p><p>She must have made a face. She shook her head. "Nothing."</p><p>"No, what?" he asked.</p><p>"I, uh, I thought you took your helmet off on Nevarro."</p><p>He knew exactly what she was talking about. "Perceptive," he mumbled, and Vena rolled her eyes at him quoting her. "I did," he said honestly. "IG wanted to save me and I swore to not take this helmet off in front of people."</p><p>Vena smiled lightly. “So you did because he’s not a person. He saved you."</p><p>"He did," said the Mandalorian.</p><p>"Well, I won't tell anyone, obviously," Vena said, as an afterthought. "If anyone found out you bended the code a little and had an issue with it, they’d have to get through me and the Baby anyway."</p><p>"Yeah?" he asked, chuckling.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <br/></span></p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">Vena smiled at her success to lighten his mood. “Yes,” she said seriously. </span>
</p><p>"Just a lot on my mind," he said, again, wanting to settle her worry, too. "About my people. About meeting those other Mandalorian's.”</p><p>About losing you and the Kid, he wanted to add, but something told him his disregard to hide his feelings earlier had told Vena all she needed to know about how he felt over it. It had been so obvious to her that he didn't want to lose her. It sounded stupid, but he hadn’t expected a Jedi to come into their lives so fast, despite being on the lookout for one. It was a naive thought, yes, but the sudden change in their quest worried him. It meant having to face the truth sooner than later, and he had thought a lot about that, too.</p><p>Where, before, he thought Vena would separate from him once the Child was with the Jedi, he wondered if he would lose both of them to the Jedi. Or, and some small part of him hoped, she would choose him, instead. He knew it was foolish and stupid but he thought, for a second, in his wildest hopes, that she would choose him over her people. It was stupid. Every time he thought about it, it became stupider. He would have been asking her to do something he could never do. Or, at least, thought he could never do. And why would she? When he did nothing lately except bother her, he couldn’t find it in him to not protect her, and he couldn’t offer her anything. He couldn’t lift his helmet and kiss her, he couldn’t offer her marriage, or a future. His life was nomadic. Dependent on bounty hunting. And even so that was a maybe, if he went back to it. He was nothing of what she needed. <br/><br/>At his crumble back into thought and stillness, Vena placed her hand on his knee. Her eyes were soft and inviting as she looked up at him, pleading with just the expression on her face to let her help him. She didn’t say anything. Just looked at him with her big, grey eyes and her lips turned into a small frown.</p><p>"We’re okay?” he mumbled.</p><p>She nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. We’re alright.”</p><p>Maybe they were. They were alright, to some degree. Unfulfilled wishes still existed between them. It would. Possibly forever.</p><p>Vena seemed to understand she did all she could. He spoke to her, which was all she really could ask of him. She hoped it was enough for him to get out of his own head for just a bit. </p><p>She stood, her hand resting on his helmet again. “Get some rest, Din,” she whispered to him. </p><p>All he could do was trust in his instinct to grab her hand before she walked away from him. He didn’t know what else convinced him to, besides him not wanting her to leave, but he stood, too, and she stepped back, as they were awfully close all of a sudden. She laughed awkwardly and tried to step away from him but he grabbed her hand. </p><p>"Come with me," he said.</p><p>"To where?" she asked.</p><p>"Do you trust me?" </p><p>Vena rolled her eyes.</p><p>He let her hand fall from his and stepped towards the window, pushing it open. They both turned to glance back at the Baby, who remained asleep. By the time Vena looked back to the window, the Mandalorian was hovering outside of it, his hands outstretched to her.</p><p>Vena rushed to the ledge. She peered out, as he used his jetpack to hover above the waves, outside of the window. She raised her head, their faces together. As close as they could be, with his helmet blocking them from touch. She smiled at him, her smile small, her eyes amused.</p><p>"You ask me to trust you a lot, you know, that right?" she said softly to him.</p><p>"I'm aware."</p><p>Vena sighed. She noticed herself doing that a lot lately. She held one of his hands and kicked her legs over the window sill. She stepped on his boots carefully, he wrapped an arm around her waist, the other still holding her hand.</p><p>With her steady in his arms, he raised them slowly up and over the city of Trask, taking in its quiet life, the lapping waves, the dim street lights. It was peaceful. Quiet. As Vena looked down past their feet at the view, enjoying the silence and the ease she felt in the Mandalorian’s arms, she was able to just breathe. He was, too.</p><p>The Mandalorian tilted the face of his helmet into her montral. Her bad one, her deaf one, and he whispered: "You're beautiful," into her montral, breathlessly, softly, knowing she would never hear it, but needing to say it anyway.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <br/></span></p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">Vena felt the vibration of his helmet against her montral as he spoke. She couldn’t hear him, but she felt him speak. Words he must have needed to say to her, she assumed, if he chose to speak to the part of her she couldn’t hear through. <br/></span>
</p><p><span class="Apple-converted-space">“Din?” she whispered, turning her face to meet his. “You’re worried about meeting </span>this Jedi, aren't you?" </p><p>He couldn’t lie to her. She knew the answer because she could feel it. </p><p>"Why are you worried?” she whispered. Her hand fell to his helmet, turning his face towards her.</p><p>"I'm not," he said, anyway, both of them knowing he was lying, but they both let it go.</p><p>Vena was lying to him, too. She supposed he could lie once to her and allow it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"><br/></span></p><p>"It's been a lovely time with you, Din," she whispered. "You've changed my life. The Baby has. I'll never forget you or what you've done for me, all this time, caring for me, helping me, all of it."</p><p>"This sounds like a goodbye," he muttered.</p><p>"It's not," she denied, although she had to admit it sort of was. "I'm just telling you what I’ve been wanting to say. Whatever feeling I had in my stomach about you, what pushed me to talk to you on Sorgan, what told me we were going to meet again... I'm so happy that feeling was right."</p><p>"What does that feeling tell you now?" he asked her nervously. He reached up and touched her face with his hand. She leaned into it, slipping her fingers through the cracks on his gloves, on her face.</p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">“I’m sad,” she admitted. “You’re the first person I’ve ever met that simultaneously makes my blood boil but my heart beat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">”Is that... Is that a nice thing?”</span>
</p><p>“Yes,” she laughed. “I came along to help protect the Baby, but along the way...”</p><p>"You and I has been an adventure of itself, isn't it?" he said quietly.</p><p>Vena laughed and nodded. His words were perfect. They were an adventure. Something  that had turned into some helpful words at a cantina turned into her risking her life for a beskar-clad man, leaving her life behind, resisting the urge to fall for him. Vena wished there were choices for them to proceed with their admiration for each other, but, even with the headaches he caused her over their feelings, she wouldn't have changed a thing. </p><p>(Except maybe the part where they were attacked by those ice insects. That, she would have tweaked.)</p><p>"Do you take all your passengers in the Crest to look at the sights?" she wondered.</p><p>"No, Hala," he said with a sigh. He shook his head as she laughed at her joke. "Just you."</p><p>"Why me?" she teased.</p><p>"Difficult," he noted and she nodded, but she continued to stare up at him with a smile, wanting to hear it. He'd said one good line and now she wanted more. Women.</p><p>"People in this galaxy are selfish. I don't blame them. A lot has happened. But you... You held life to you, a long life, in the way that you were so incessant about helping me and the Child. It surprised me, how kind you were. How kind you continue to be, even when I don't have words for you, or I push you, or... When I’m just being difficult me. You're kind and you're quiet but you're fierce and hard-headed. You were a mystery--"</p><p>"I'm not still?" she teased.</p><p>He rolled his eyes. "I knew, when it was hard to leave you, back on Sorgan, that I wanted you as an ally."</p><p>"Oh, an ally," she teased.</p><p>"I can stop."</p><p>"No, keep going."</p><p>"I wanted more time," he told her. He tilted his helmet down to her forehead and touched it. She didnt move away from him, so he didn't either. "And I got more time with you. You were right. I told you we could go to Kiros to see if the Kid's tracker worked, but I knew how it worked. I did want to learn my jetpack, I did want to lay low."</p><p>She pulled back. "Why didn't you just tell me that?"</p><p>"You know I'm not good at this."</p><p>"Afraid I'd know you have a liking for me?" she asked cheekily. "It's alright to admit. I didn't want you to know either."</p><p>He'd known she liked him to some degree but her admission still made him blush under his helmet. "Why?"</p><p>She shrugged. She didn't want to say. She had a number of things to say, but all things she couldn't change. It wasn't either of their faults, the Creed, the Jedi status, it was just unfortunate. Something that couldn't be adhered to.</p><p>"We got more time to know each other," he decided to say. "To be friends. The rest is just..."</p><p>He was right to trail off. Not even twelve hours ago they were going to get eaten by a giant insect and/or freeze alive and now she was clutching onto a Mandalorian over a massive sea and they were confessing to each other, again, that there was something there, but, like the time before, nothing was going to be done about it. They could do nothing more than know that they cared for each other.</p><p>Vena wasn't going to admit her truth to him and the Mandalorian wouldn't choose her over the Creed. At least, with his suspicion and not definitive fact, he would be safe from the clutches of those who wanted Jedi. That was why, she decided, she didn't need him knowing. It wasn’t that they were enemies any more; if he suspected she was a Jedi, he wouldn't be acting like this with her. She didn’t need the Imperial scrutiny of association with a Jedi on his radar too. He’d done enough. She couldn’t put him through that and she couldn’t put herself out there to get rejected him. </p><p>Her luck. Falling for the only Mandalorian she had ever met who had to keep his helmet on.</p><p>"We should head back," she said, instead, wanting to end their conversation on something nice. They both needed that. She was sure a similar battle was raging in his head, too, about her. "We don’t want to leave the baby for too long."</p><p>So, they returned. Vena jumped through the window and the Mandalorian flew in behind her. He shut the window and drew the blinds shut as Vena wiggled under the covers with the Baby.</p><p>He slept on top of the blankets, on his back. They said nothing more to each other, both with enough on their minds, but he noticed, when Vena thought he was sleeping, she threw some of her blanket over him anyway.</p><p> </p><p>••••<br/><br/></p><p>The Mandalorian, Vena, and the Child met Bo-Katan and her people at the Razor Crest moments before the sun was peaking over the horizon. Bo and the Mandalorian stood on the top of the Crest, while Vena, Koska, and Axe, crouched lower, on the cockpits hull.</p><p>It was for a better view of the Freighter, Vena knew, but she kept the Baby watching the sunrise, whispering to him about how pretty it was while he cooed and agreed. </p><p>"That Imperial Gazanti Freighter is being loaded with weapons as we speak," said Bo, and Vena turned her montral to hear her. "According to the port's manifest, it's scheduled to depart at first light."</p><p>"So we stow away?" asked the Mandalorian.</p><p>"They scan for life forms as a precaution before pushing back,” denied Koska.</p><p>He nodded. "If you want to do this with four, you're going to need the element of surprise."</p><p>"Oh?" asked Bo. She glanced over at Vena. "You’re not joining us?"</p><p>"You asked for a deal with me, not her,” said the Mandalorian defensively.</p><p>"I'll aid if you need it," said Vena.</p><p>He wanted to deny her but he stopped, when she glared at him, and he stopped somewhat on his own accord, too. He couldn’t tell her why he thought that was a bad idea. Not in front of the other Mandalorian’s, but not to her, either, when they still hadn't agreed on her secret.</p><p>"That would be ideal,” said Bo, squinting between the two of them. “Anyway, the Freighter will maintain trawling speed while inside the shipping lanes and then ascend into orbit. We'll jet up when they're cruising in atmosphere. The tower wont allow them to climb until they've left the port's airspace."</p><p>"Troopers?" asked Vena.</p><p>"A squad at most,” shrugged Bo.</p><p>"And they couldn't hit the side of a Bantha,” laughed Axe.</p><p>Vena raised her brow, amused. So, cocky, too. Another trait she could add to her list of Mandalorian traits they all seemed to share. <br/><br/>“We have to go drop off the Kid, first,” said the Mandalorian. “We’ll be back before launch.”</p><p>He grabbed Vena and flew them down to the ground. They started to walk, side by side, heading towards where the Frog Lady and her husband resided.</p><p>Vena decided to start before he did: “Mando, I told Bo-Katan I would join them.”</p><p>"It's the Empire."</p><p>“I am aware.”</p><p>"Then why are you taking this risk? You would’ve done anything to escape the Empire a few months ago."</p><p>"We agreed that you would stop doing this, Din," she muttered, sighing to release the irritation rising to the back of her neck. "We agreed that you would stop worrying and start trusting me. We agreed on that. Do you remember that?"</p><p>"Yes, but—"</p><p>"No but,” she said. She paused to point in the direction they needed to head.</p><p>”Alright, then—“</p><p>"It doesn’t seem right for me to let you do all the hard work when it's our mission, together, to see the Baby to a good home with his people,” Vena covered, which was mostly true, even though the Mandalorian didn’t necessarily believe that to be her main reason. She cleared her throat awkwardly. “And I told you I didn't want to leave your side."</p><p>"You don’t need to put yourself in danger when we're going to get the same result anyway. You don’t know Mandalorian's like I do. We won’t need your help. I have Beskar, you have nothing. So stay behind. Away from the Empire. Here, protect him, here."</p><p>Vena looked over at him. She squinted at him, a low growl threatening to escape her throat, based solely on how vaguely rude his comment was.</p><p>"No," she said slowly, lowly. "I don't think I will."</p><p>He scoffed. “What’s your problem, Vena?” he snapped. </p><p>Vena stopped in the hall and snapped the same question back at him. </p><p>There they stood, staring angrily at each other, waiting for the other to cave. But then the door beside them opened, the Frog Lady’s Husband, and Vena’s glare softened respectfully. </p><p>“Hi,” she said politely. </p><p>"Somethings come up," said the Mandalorian. "Can I leave him with you for a bit?"</p><p>The Frog Man agreed and waved his hands for them to enter.</p><p>Vena pressed a kiss to the Child’s head. “Behave,” she muttered to him.</p><p>The Mandalorian took the Child from Vena’s arms and brought the Baby in. He settled him at their table, beside the Frog Lady, where their eggs were poured into a large, clear bowl for the three of them to watch over.</p><p>"You are gonna stay here, so I want you to be respectful. And mind your manners. You know what I’m talking about,” he mumbled to the Child. </p><p>He stared back at the Mandalorian innocently. As he walked back to Vena’s side, the Child’s eyes landed on Vena and she squinted at him threateningly, which he giggled at. She rolled her eyes.</p><p>”Thank you,” she called to the Frog Couple. “We'll be back for him.”</p><p>••••</p><p>When the Freighter’s engine started, Vena warned the leisuring Mandalorian’s at her side. They all stood at attention, their helmets on, watching eagerly at the edge of the dock. The Freighter started to lift in the air and head out over the sea, slowly ascending.</p><p>Bo, Koska, and Axe ignited their jetpacks. Vena gasped as she felt hands hook under the back of her knees; she was in the Mandalorian’s arms seconds later. They started to fly out towards the Freighter.</p><p>Vena tucked her head into the Mandalorian’s shoulder, away from the wind. She wore a scarf wrapped around her nose and over her montrals. </p><p>As she felt him start to slow, she turned her head forward. The Freighter was below them. There were two Stormtroopers on the outside deck. She watched as Axe turned off his jetpack and slid down the edge of the ship, his feet smacked the deck, and he kicked a Trooper clean off the deck.</p><p>Bo landed opposite him. She whipped around as a Trooper from just inside the door had paged through the ship and yelled, "Pirates!"</p><p>The Mandalorian capped his jetpack and his feet hit the deck with a thud. He dropped Vena’s legs, then used his hand around her waist to shove her behind him as Koska fought off the remaining Trooper.</p><p>With the door to the inside shut, Axe bent over and started to hotwire the door back open. </p><p>Vena tilted her head into the side of the ship. “Three!” she yelled over the wind.</p><p>Bo nodded. She flicked her wrist out, revealing a blade on the back of her hand. Axe succeeded and the door slid open. Bo slipped in through the door, after waiting for the three Troopers to pass by, then took all three of them out with no aid. </p><p>With the hall clear, Koska and Axe joined her side. The Mandalorian and Vena brought up the end, yet even so, Vena still was pushed to the very back when he walked in front of her protectively. She withdrew her blaster and held it loosely in her hand as they snuck quickly through the halls, following Bo’s lead.</p><p>Vena’s montral perked when she heard a crowd of incoming footsteps. “Move!” she yelled and all but tackled the Mandalorian to the wall. </p><p>Red blaster fire shot past them and through the clear and open hallway.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Bo looked over at her and nodded thankfully. <br/></span></p><p><span class="Apple-converted-space">Vena and the Mandalorian were essentially left behind as Koska, Axe, and Bo went to work. It was obvious in that tight hallway that they had been close companion’s for years, with the fluidity and ease they worked together, </span>crossing along the hallway, advancing, taking out Troopers as they slipped across the open hallway, choreographed, prepared, and executing with simple head nods. They were of the same mind, almost. </p><p>“Maybe you weren’t really necessary either,” muttered Vena as she watched them take out every Trooper with absolutely no help from Vena or the Mandalorian.</p><p>He nudged her by the small of her back after them. It seemed he was along the same train of thought: “Then why would she ask for our help?”</p><p>Vena shrugged softly and glanced over at him wordlessly. It remained to be seen.</p><p>The ship accelerated under their feet. They all skidded to a stop, sharing glances with each other, before they started to run forward through the halls. An acceleration meant nothing good. Word had definitely gotten out that they were on the ship. So much for stealth... </p><p>They hurried into the elevator at the end of the hall. It exited to another hallway, all signs pointing towards the cargo bay.</p><p>"Troopers at the other end," warned Vena.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <br/></span></p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">They split to the walls of the hallway. The doors at the end of the hall slid open, blaster fire immediately covering the Troopers numbers, and not allowing the Mandalorian’s to move forward. </span>
</p><p>The Mandalorian reached around Vena to throw a smoke grenade. With the fog lessening the fire, the Mandalorian’s walked through the center of the hall, firing precisely through the fog with the assistance of their helmets.</p><p>Vena followed, her blaster loose in her hand once more. She didn't have to do much, again, besides listen. She briefly thought maybe she should’ve stayed with the Baby.</p><p>They shot up another elevator. That time, they exited firing, upon Vena’s warning that the cargo bay was ahead and there were many Troopers lingering there. They pushed forward quickly, hurriedly, trying to enter into the bay, but when doors slammed shut in front of them, then behind them, Vena paused.</p><p>”Damn it,” said Bo. </p><p>“Maybe not,” mumbled Vena.</p><p>She inspected the button panel ahead. She pointed lazily at it, chuckling a little, as she watched the others realize that the Troopers had only succeeded in trapping themselves in the cargo hold, with all of the power resting with the Mandalorian’s.</p><p>Bo-Katan didn’t hesitate to hit the bay control doors. Soon after, and the sound of quick wind and screams fresh in their ears, the doors opened, and the bay was clear.</p><p>Koska and Axe hustled forward to rummage through the dozens of weapons crates.</p><p>Vena squatted down to pick up a communicator she’d heard. A voice was speaking through it, slightly muffled from where it was nudged underneath a weapons crate. She handed it over to Bo.</p><p>Bo slid off her helmet, a smirk on her lips as she walked through the empty bay. “Thanks for packing up all this gear so nicely. Imagine what a divison of us can do when we get our hands on whats inside these shiny little boxes.”</p><p>
  <em>"If you think you’re going to escape with those weapons, you are sadly mistaken. Even if you’ve managed to jettison a few of those crates, we will comb the entire area until you are hunted down and killed."</em>
</p><p>"We're not jettisoning anything. We're taking the entire ship."</p><p>Vena and the Mandalorian turned. “What?”</p><p>Bo’s eyes flickered to them before she responded to the man over the Comm. “Put some tea on. We'll be up in a minute."</p><p>"That is more than we signed up for,” snapped the Mandalorian. </p><p>Bo stood her ground. She was unphased by the Mandalorian’s aggression, and by Vena’s suspicious brow lowering.  </p><p>"There is something I need, if I am to rule Mandalore. Something that was once mine. They know where it is, and soon, so will I. Regardless, we are taking the ship for the battles ahead."</p><p>"We got you your weapons. I have to return to my ship with the Foundling,” said the Mandalorian. </p><p>Bo glanced over at Vena. "If you want my help finding the Jedi, you will help me take this ship."</p><p>The Mandalorian took a subtle step towards her, but to the side, blocking Vena from Bo’s view. "You're changing the terms of the deal.”</p><p>"This is the Way," she smirked, then walked off, with Axe and Koska walking around them and forward after her.</p><p>Vena crossed her arms over her chest as she watched them walk away. “She’s a character, isn’t she?”</p><p>"She changed the terms of the deal,” he said angrily.</p><p>"What does it change? We need her for the Jedi. And we've already made it this far,” Vena said. She nudged him forward into a slow walk, whispering, lingering behind their leads. "Like I said earlier, Mando. Everyone's got an agenda."<br/><br/></p><p>Though he agreed they needed Bo’s information, part of him wanted to abandon the mission on spite alone. It was not customary for plans to switch like they had, or for a Mandalorian to withhold information deliberately like Bo-Katan had... He could admire the leadership nuance the woman had, but he could not commend her on recognizing the needs of others.</p><p>They walked in somewhat of a tight formation down the halls of the Freighter, traveling towards the cockpit. They moved quickly.</p><p>When the ship jerked downwards, and they all toppled over, grabbing each other to steady themselves along the wall, the unspoken consensus was that the Captain decided to end their mission the quickest way possible.</p><p>The Mandalorian grabbed Vena around her waist and held her against his front. His grunts were quiet in her montral, as he tried to hold on, as they all tried to look around and find where to go, how to get to the cockpit the fastest way. </p><p>"They're trying to crash the ship," Vena said logically. "We've taken most of it, they're only other option is to destroy everything and us and them."</p><p>"Then let’s move!" said Bo.</p><p>“No!” said Vena, rushing forward to yank back Bo, before she tried to round the corner to the bridge. She grabbed her and dragged her back to cover as blaster fire started to aim through the hall and at the back of the wall. </p><p>“Two heavy repeating blasters!” she warned. </p><p>The Mandalorian’s crouched, over each other, or took turns shooting back, back and forth, for nothing. These last Troopers were a last effort resort to stall the Mandalorian’s so they could succeed in crashing the ship.</p><p>"How many?"</p><p>Axe counted. "Six to ten!"</p><p>"We're losing altitude fast," said Koska, staring down at the panel on her arm. </p><p>"They have too much firepower!" snapped Bo impatiently. <br/><br/></p><p>Koska started to announce the dropping altitude, as it dropped a thousand feet at a time, every few seconds. Time was running out.</p><p>Anxiously, Vena grabbed a grenade from the Mandalorian’s belt. She was going to throw it, using her power, make it reach across the distance, and maybe it wouldn’t be believable to the Mandalorian’s around her, but she preferred it to dying. She hoped they would, too.</p><p>She stepped out from behind coverage and she felt herself move, dodging the heavy repeating blasters, like instinct, like she knew where they were going to hit. She drew back her arm and went to throw it— but the Mandalorian grabbed her and threw her back behind cover. Vena had no time to react before he snatched the grenade and yelled "Cover me!" before he ran through the hallway.</p><p>Vena pushed herself up from the floor and crawled forward. She had heard the <em>dink</em>, of the blasters focusing on his Beskar. By the time he was in her eyesight, he had fallen forward, his helmet down and on the floor.  </p><p>Vena moved to grab him, but Bo grabbed her arm, hard, causing Vena to turn back to her with a growl. Bo released her, her brow together, her hands up in a soft surrender.</p><p>By the time they both looked back over, the Mandalorian had succeeded in throwing grenades at the Troopers. His body was encapsulated with fire. </p><p>Vena ran towards the fire. It settled by the time she reached him, grabbing his arm above his elbow and ripping him up from the floor. She looked at him, looked him over, and he held his breath, waiting for her to scream at him, but she didn’t. She made sure he was alright, then she pushed him forward to walk.</p><p><span class="Apple-converted-space">Bo-Katan, Axe, and Koska rushed in front of them to the bridge. Axe </span>hardwired the bridge door open. The Mandalorian ran forward, ripping the Captain out of the chair, and shoving him right into Bo-Katan’s clutches.</p><p>The Mandalorian’s sat down and koska did, too, pulling the controls up and trying to level the ship before they dove too deep to recover from. </p><p>Vena entered the cockpit as Bo-Katan was holding her blade to the Imperial Captain’s throat. She stood at the back of the Mandalorian’s chair, a hand on it to steady herself, but her montral was turned out, listening to Bo’s seething words. </p><p>"Where is it?"</p><p>The Captain played dumb. "Where’s what?"</p><p>"The Darksaber. Does he have it?"</p><p>"If you’re asking, you already know."</p><p>The Mandalorian and Koska leveled the Freighter. The belly of the ship skidded across the water before their over correction forced the Freighter ascending quickly into the air again.</p><p>"I will let you live. But you will take me to him,” muttered Bo.</p><p>"You might let me live, but he won’t,” said the Captain, and Vena was hit with a sudden fear from him. She looked over just in time to see him chomp down on a capsule inside of his mouth. Electricity shot through his mouth. He dropped to the floor, dead. </p><p>"NO!" yelled Bo. </p><p>“We have to go,” said Koska, shaking her head. “He sent a distress signal.”</p><p>Vena stared down at the body, her eyes wide. She didn’t notice the hand on her mouth until the Mandalorian had stood and passed in front of her, taking her hand from her mouth and holding it in his own. He stood in front of her, covering her from the others view, as she shook the disbelief from her face and features. She’d never seen anything like that before. To see someone’s loyalty so assuredly settled in fear of a superior that they would choose death over facing reprimand... </p><p>Bo was forced to let the death of the Captain to go and face reality: the distress signal. They needed to go. Bo told Koska to clear the atmosphere and prepare them to jump. She looked over at Vena and the Mandalorian, warning them that it was time for them to depart, too. </p><p>The Mandalorian didnt need another moment to think about it. He looked down at Vena, who nodded, then he started to lead her from the cockpit, their hands still together.</p><p>"Are you sure you won’t join us?" asked Bo, as they went to leave.</p><p>The Mandalorian paused at the doorway. “There’s something I need to do,” he said. </p><p>Bo nodded knowingly. "The offer stands if you change your mind."</p><p>Vena nodded, glancing up at the Mandalorian, gauging his reaction. Or, non-reaction, as usual. She worried about Bo’s offer to the Mandalorian. She had to wonder if the mission had been a test for him; she’d irritated him by bringing Vena along, she’d changed the terms of the deal, she’d seen his devotion to the cause, his own cause and mission, and his potential as an ally had been made clear. </p><p>“Um, the Jedi,” Vena prompted awkwardly. She’d almost forgot with all the commotion. “Where’s the Jedi located?”</p><p>Bo nodded and took off her helmet, holding it under her arm. "Take the Foundling to the city of Calodan on the forest planet of Corvus. There, you will find Ahsoka Tano.”</p><p>Vena watched Bo-Katan’s lips continue to move. She heard none of it. All she could hear in her head on a loop was <em>Corvus, Corvus, Ahsoka Tano. Ahsoka. Ahsoka.</em></p><p>She heard the Mandalorian return Bo’s words ("This is the Way,”) and whatnot, exchange some thanks, then she flashed a smile to Bo as the Mandalorian tugged her along and away from the cockpit. </p><p>Somewhere in a part of Vena’s brain that wasn’t repeating the name of the Jedi that was going to change her life, she realized the only way down from their altitude was using the Mandalorian’s jetpack. But she was going to meet a <em>real</em> Jedi. She suddenly felt a reason to test herself, with a Jedi around the corner, and for no reason other than wanting to see how far her control could go, when the Mandalorian reached the ledge they’d entered through and turned to her to grab her, Vena denied him and dove off of the ledge. </p><p>She spent those two months on Kiros steadily increasing her range physically, lifting, pushing, pulling, accentuating her natural athletic ability. If she was going to meet a real Jedi, she was going to have to try, for once, to be one.</p><p>And what did it mean to be a Jedi, anyway? To use the power inside for good? To protect people? Vena thought about what she remembered as a child about the Jedi—that they saved her people, liberated them. They’d done a service to her people, maybe her family. But that had been discredited, to some degree. During the War, the Jedi were a disgrace. They’d overthrown the Republic, or so she had grown up hearing, as she listened to politicians or business owners she slept with rant and discuss. They were wanted, hunted, the people (or, those who hadn’t known the Jedi) wanted them locked up. Gone. </p><p>As far as Vena knew, they might as well have been. She’d gone her entire life knowing the Jedi to be dangerous and wanted by the Empire. They’d had time to go extinct. She was lucky to be meeting one, after everything. She wanted to prove herself to be worthy of the woman’s time, at the very least.</p><p>Vena tucked her legs into her chest and changed her position, falling with her feet first, instead of her stomach. She used some slight power from her hands to start to slow herself, testing it, noticing herself in the energy of the universe, noting how to maneuver her weight, just as she had done instinctually with the blaster fire to avoid it. She could catch herself before the dock arrived under her feet, she knew, but the Mandalorian wouldn’t allow that to happen.</p><p>Speaking of—she felt a gloved hand wrap around her wrist. She looked over at the Mandalorian, feeling his immense panic and worry over her, feeling it subdue with his hand touching her, then.</p><p>He turned his jetpack on and slowed them both down gradually, as to not jerk Vena. Her feet danced on the air as she wiggled to touch the dock. Her feet hit softly. The Mandalorian letting go of her hand to land himself. Vena shrugged her clothes back into place, tugging her scarf back down to her neck.</p><p>"What the Hell is wrong with you?" he asked immediately, giving her barely any time to breathe.</p><p>She shrugged and started to walk towards the Frog Couple’s place eagerly. “Well, you caught me, didn't you?”</p><p>He stomped after her. "Absolutely not the point. You can't just throw yourself out of the sky and hope for the best! You can't just--"</p><p>"What? Put my life in danger?” she asked him.</p><p>She was surprisingly calm, after what anxiousness they’d gone through on the Freighter. She knew it was because of the news. Ahsoka, her voice kept repeating at the back of her mind, and with time, the woman’s name was becoming synonymous with hope. With a new path.</p><p>“But you can? You’re allowed to lay your life down for some random people—which, you've done, like, three times now—but I can’t? I can’t even help?”</p><p>He stopped in place, his hands falling to his hips. "What was the third time?"</p><p>Vena rolled her eyes and kept moving. </p><p>"I was doing so for a cause, for people, for the Kid, for you. Not because I’m on some random spree of wanting to kill myself for fun."</p><p>"Well, if I had an inkling to do so, I would have done it much sooner, I’d like to think.”</p><p>"Vena," he sighed, exasperated, stopping them again with a tug of her arm to stop her, too. </p><p>She stared up at him, emotionless. Trying to remain blank on her face, which he knew she had to think about in order to do. She couldn’t help it. She felt so clearly. </p><p>He wanted to ask her again, because now she was awakened, in a different way. She made that jump with confidence, only confidence she'd suddenly had after learning they were going to a Jedi. He knew people and how predictable they could be. He knew instantly  Vena probably just wanted to test herself because she knew they were going to soon be with others of her kind, so she wanted to prove herself. His issue was not with her rising pride; it was with her placement and usage of power. But, of course, he couldn’t tell her that. Nor know that she had powers.</p><p>"Just be honest with me. Now,” he pleaded softly. “I want to stop this tension with you."</p><p>Vena’s mind wasn’t changing for his begging. It wouldn't change anything. Her telling him she was like the Child and shared in some of his abilities would not expand his trust in her. He wouldn't stop letting her try to help him out, even if it meant risking her life. He still thought himself above her, like his life meant less, like he was immortal because of his armor. Him knowing wouldn't change anything about her anger with him, it wouldn't change their relationship.</p><p>"No," she said, shrugging. "It's not going to just stop, Din. You and I won’t stop not trusting each other fully. You won't stop trying to make the sacrifice play. You told me you wore that Beskar and you sacrificed yourself for the people of Mos Pelgo because you could do something and it was wrong to not try. Why should it be any different for me?"</p><p>"Because you don't have a helmet. You don't hide your face. You can't live all of your life laying low and killing your old personas when you leave planets and being a nut job about the Empire not finding you and then let it all go!"</p><p>She was irrational, she knew, and he was right, she knew, but she couldn’t help herself anyway: "Why not?!"</p><p>"Because what is it for?!" he yelled at her. "What has all your work to protect yourself and whatever secret you may or may not have, if you throw it out the window? What don't you understand about me trying to help you hide? I worry because I want you, Vena," he snapped at her. "I want you safe and I want you okay and happy to be with me. All I have done lately is fight with you and make you resent me and I don't know how to fix it. I don't know how to deal with how I feel about you because none of it makes sense!"</p><p>He was doing it for her. Maker, was she stupid. He wasn't restricting her or keeping her from missions because he didn't want her hurt. He acted the way he did because he knew she would try to help. She would risk being known to help him, to save him, or others. And he was trying to prevent it. Realizing that was enough to change her mind.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> To finally make the decision for them.</span></p><p>"You can't have me," she told him quietly. She thought about it for the first time, truly, and honestly. Who were they kidding?</p><p>She felt the Mandalorian's dread slam into her and all she could do was stand there. She hated herself for it. For letting it go this for, for advancing their relationship, when it never should've happened in the first place.</p><p>"Because of my Creed,” he said defeatedly.</p><p>"Because of the secret," she disagreed. "You have an understanding of it and I won't be admitting. But it is a reason this wont work. It’s your Creed, it’s my secret. This will not work. No matter how much we want it to. The faster we understand that, maybe the better."</p><p>"But I want it to."<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <br/></span></p><p><span class="Apple-converted-space">“</span>Don’t think that I don’t," said Vena. "But be realistic. You won't abandon your Creed for this, and I... I have an agenda, just like everyone else. This wouldn't work. We made those moves, the keldabe and you touching my head, because you were dying. Anything after that, it shouldn't have happened. We shouldn't have let it progress, Din."</p><p>"You're saying you regret this."</p><p>"No," she sighed. "No. You know how much I love the Baby and how much I..." she stopped, because she couldn't say the same about the Mandalorian. "I am grateful," she said, instead. "But you and I should've realized earlier that we could never work. You need to be with a Mandalorian, someone from your Creed, your people, and you need someone that isn't me."</p><p>"But I care about you."</p><p>"And I do, too. I do," she promised him, earnestly. "But we can't take this further than friendship. It's just not realistic for either of us. It's not fair to either of us. And that's okay. I'm sorry."</p><p>"Yeah."<br/><br/>He was the one to walk away first.</p><p>Vena trudged after him. </p><p>A guppy was in a shallow bowl, that time, when they entered the Frog Couple’s home. The Child was on his tip-toes at the table, his hands in the shallow water, playing with his new friend, under the watchful and proud eyes of the Frog Couple. </p><p>"Thank you for watching him," called Vena from the doorway. She didn’t want to step in. Their house was filled with emotion, they were, in close proximity. She didn’t want to feel their immense love for each other. Not then. </p><p>The Mandalorian muttered a quiet celebratory remark to the Couple as he reached for the Child. He sighed as the Child whined and struggled against him hopelessly, wanting to remain near the Frog Child. The Mandalorian tucked him into his arm, mumbling empty reprimands at the crying Child.</p><p>He led them back to the Crest. Vena continued to stay walking behind him.</p><p>The Mon Calamari who took care of the Crest was standing outside when they approached. Vena looked up at the ship, expecting it to have been shiny, repaired, to be hiding its age, but... She wasn’t. She had been patched up. That much was true.</p><p>The Mandalorian wasn’t thrilled, either. "I gave you a thousand credits, this was the best you could do?"</p><p>The Mon Calamari shrugged. He held out a pad in front of the Mandalorian, having him sign for release of the Crest. He signed begrudgingly. </p><p>The Razor Crest looked like they’d been swallowed by a fishing village. Fish wire and nets were hooked throughout it, holding broken panels in place, hanging the lights from the ceiling. Some of the lights were still flickering. The cockpit, when they entered, was the same. Fishing net held the ceiling of the cockpit together. </p><p>"Mon Calamari,” muttered the Mandalorian as he sat down. “Unbelievable."</p><p>Vena looked down at her seat. “Hey!” she said, excited, tugging her seatbelt for him to see. “My seats fixed now.”</p><p>The Mandalorian nodded. “I had to specially ask for it.”</p><p>”Oh,” muttered Vena, dejected. “Well, thanks.”</p><p>He lifted the Crest into the air. Vena clutched the arms of her chair, the Baby clutched her thighs. Both their eyes were slightly widened, in fear and distrust— the Crest was abnormally shaky and unstable as it ascended into the sky.</p><p>Small trickles met Vena’s montral. She ignored it, figuring it was jostling of the various breaking panels or other non-intact sections of the ship, until the Mandalorian’s arm snapped out in front of her and caught an ocean dweller, with tentacles and a circular mouth filled with small teeth. It fell still in the Mandalorian’s tight grasp, then he handed it to the Baby, who immediately shoved the creature into his mouth. It was like he knew Vena was going to try to stop him from eating it. </p><p>She wanted to, but it was too late. She watched the Child slurp. The creatures tentacles slid across his face as he did so, which brought quite a horrified look to her face.</p><p>”What do you feed him when I’m not paying attention?” she asked. </p><p>The Mandalorian shrugged. "He's still alive, isnt he?" he asked, then he turned briefly to look at the Kid. He sounded somewhat defeated, though he tried to hide the feeling from both of his passengers. "I finally know where I’m taking you, Kid. But it’s gonna be a bumpy ride."</p><p>All Vena could do was hold on a little tighter to her armrests as the Razor Crest struggled to fly them across the galaxy, to the one person that would change her life forever: Ahsoka Tano. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Again & Again</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the delay and short chapter!! I sprained both of my wrists in a bad fall and could only type super super slow. Better stuff in two weeks y’all—I promise.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Vena couldn’t explain how they ended in the situation they had. Probably out of necessity, because they needed the ship to keep limping along. But as she stood there, between the Mandalorian, as he sat at the cockpit, and at the back of the short hall, squatting, peering into a panel where the Baby had wedged himself into a crevice amongst the skeleton of the Crest, she couldn’t help but wonder what their task even was. </p><p>The Mandalorian had said something about wires making the ship do something, but ultimately, he’d needed small hands and given that they had, well, a baby, the decision was simple.</p><p>"Alright,” said the Mandalorian, glancing back at Vena as she waited attentively. “Does he have the wire?" </p><p>Vena crouched and squinted. She watched the Baby as he held two thin wires in each fist, his ears turning in and out, trying to listen for instruction, too. She nodded. </p><p>The Mandalorian turned back to his console. “Hm. No, nothing... The red one, right?”</p><p>Vena nodded. “Right, the red one."</p><p>"Huh?" asked the Child.</p><p>"Red," she repeated to him.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <br/></span></p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">The Child held up the red wire. Vena nodded, then held her finger towards him to wait as she listened for the Mandalorian’s instruction.</span>
</p><p>"He’s gonna want to plug in that red wire to where the blue wire goes into the board."</p><p>"Red into blue and blue into red?" Vena asked, for clarification.</p><p>"Yes, you're going to want to unplug the red wire and put it into where the blue wire goes, then unplug the blue one, and put it where the red one goes."</p><p>Vena paused to glare at the back of his helmet. "I literally just said that,” she muttered, then turned to the Baby. "Didn’t I just say that?"</p><p>The Child looked between the wires in his hand, the red and the blue. </p><p>"Now switch them,"<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Vena encouraged.</span></p><p>"Now hold them apart, though, because they're oppositely charged."</p><p>She hadn’t heard him clearly. She lifted her head from watching the Child. “What?”</p><p>"Hold them apart ‘cause they’re--"</p><p>When smoke blew from the panel and they heard a short, uncomfortable cry, a sense of panic flashed through Vena’s body. She shoved a hand through the smoke and waited until the Child touched her hand, using it to help guide himself out and back into her arms. He’d shocked himself with the wires, but he was okay, besides the coughing he and Vena were both trying to utilize to rid the smoke from their lungs.</p><p>“You both okay?” asked the Mandalorian, rising from his chair and placing a hand on both of them. They both nodded up at him. “Well, it was worth a shot. Dinner?”</p><p>Dinner was no more than a cup of soup. The Mandalorian and the Child sat beside each other on a pair of overturned crates, their cups in their hands, waiting patiently as Vena prepared some portion-packet bread to go along with their meal. </p><p>Surprisingly, things were okay. Although Vena had decided for them that they were nothing more than friends, and he had been upset over it, it was as if nothing had changed. There was a sense of resolve inside of the Mandalorian, Vena understood, after a nights sleep. Something of his quick resolve worried her, making her wonder if he really did ever care about her in that way, making her somewhat self-conscious of possible assumptions. But she tried to disregard any feelings she had about his feelings. They were okay. Friends. Normal. She didn’t want to have any more thoughts on it. </p><p>The Mandalorian cleared his throat, shocking her from her review on their travel time since leaving Trask. He’d noticed she was thinking deeply, noticed the way she started to tap her fingers and the tip of her shoes, the squint of her eyes into the distance—and he wanted to keep her from diving in too deep into her own head. He knew she would sense his resolve about their...Disagreement, he supposed. And he wasn’t ready for her to know what caused his resolve, nor did he want to cause any more tension between them.</p><p>”I’ve been thinking—“ he started.</p><p>”Oh, no,” she muttered, a small smile on her lips as she turned her head to acknowledge him.</p><p>”Stop,” he rolled his eyes. “There’s no way we’re making it to Corvus in this shape.”</p><p>“I was actually thinking the same,” she agreed, her grey eyes glancing around the fragile ship.</p><p>She turned, at the same time she registered the click and hiss of his helmet raising, and she immediately dropped her head to avoid seeing him. She turned back around to grab a set of napkins, her eyes wide, and shocked. He lifted his helmet in close proximity to her. In front of the Child, who was genuinely inches away from him, and probably saw him take a sip of the soup. She hoped it was a mistake, her mistake, and she felt the urge to apologize, but her thought train ran right past that option when she realized that was the first time the Mandalorian had ever lifted his helmet on even the same <em>plane</em> as her. </p><p>She thought about how many times she had left him alone to eat, and taken the Child with her. It was habit, almost, after spending half a year with him to eat in his presence and then leave with the Child for him to be in peace. And it was completely disregarded. Randomly. <br/><br/>Well, not randomly, Vena thought, because it was clearly something he had intended to do. Had to be. A man who followed his Creed so closely would not start to loosen for any reason. Perhaps not at all. </p><p>The feeling Vena had about the Mandalorian’s resolve was starting to flare in her mind again. </p><p>“Hal?” he asked.</p><p><em>Hal...</em> There was definitely something up with him.</p><p>”No, I agree,” said Vena, turning and passing him and the Child their bread. “Let’s stop and get the ship actually repaired.” </p><p>"I think we need to visit some friends, then,” he continued. </p><p>Vena hummed as she stepped back rested her lower back against the edge of the table, her soup in one hand and the bread in the other. “You have friends?”</p><p>”So you’re choosing to be funny today?” asked the Mandalorian dryly. Vena shrugged. He looked between her and the Child. “Nevarro, then? What do you say?" </p><p>"Sounds good to me," said Vena.</p><p>The Child babbled in agreement.</p><p>Vena was taking a bite from her bread when, again, she heard the click and hiss of his helmet lifting. Only this time, she had nothing to avert her gaze to. She saw a flash of <em>him</em>—neck, the lump in his throat, his stubbled, sharp chin— as he swallowed the soup, and then his helmet lowered.</p><p>Startled, and so obviously intrigued by the flash of skin she just saw, Vena choked on her bread. She turned her back to him immediately, coughing, looking for something to drink. </p><p>"You okay?"</p><p>If she wasn’t wiping the tears from her eyes, Vena would’ve rolled them. His tone was deliberate. Playful. </p><p>"Great,” she coughed. “Went down the wrong pipe.”</p><p>He sounded so pleased. ”I’m sure it did.”</p><p>“Mhm, right, so Nevarro?” asked Vena quickly. She suddenly started to eat faster, for no other reason than wanting to retire to the cockpit or the refresher or somewhere away from him. </p><p>“Nevarro it is,” the Mandalorian agreed. “I’ll go set a course.”</p><p>Vena watched him, her eyes narrowing as he enclosed in on her, his cup in his hand. He walked right to her. Her eyes were glued to his visor, and without her moving, he set his cup on the table behind her. He was close. Deliberately so.</p><p>”Want a ring when I jump to hyperspeed?” he mumbled softly to her. He was still close to her, his hand paused as he held the cup down on the table, and his helmet tilted down to her.</p><p>Vena felt a warmth creeping up her neck, but she didn’t shrink under his gaze nor his proximity. “Think I’m going to take a nap, actually,” she said. <br/><br/></p><p>“Maybe I’ll join you when we’re on course,” he said thoughtfully, and with that, he turned and carried himself up the cockpit ladder.</p><p>Vena noticed her nose scrunching with utter confusion only after he disappeared from her view. Immediately, her head snapped to the Child, who also turned to look at her, projecting his own feelings of confusion.</p><p>”Isn’t he acting weird?” she whispered to the Child. “He is, right, it’s not just me?”</p><p>The Child shook his head in agreement. “Ba,” he said, after. <br/><br/>Vena agreed with him. The Child had sensed the Mandalorian’s resolve, too, causing both of them to believe his attempts to Vena were not over, in some capacity. She wanted to be endeared by his efforts, truly, but with she and the Child only days away from abandoning the Mandalorian, it only served to irritate her. Why couldn’t he understand that they’d missed their chance?</p><p>The Child must have noticed her thought. He frowned. Vena read his feelings like a book, usually, when he wanted her to, but she couldn’t understand his attempts to further their mental communication. There, in that moment, she felt his drive, his want to speak to her telepathically, but Vena shook her head.</p><p>”You know I have a hard time,” she whispered to him, just as frustrated as he was with her.</p><p>Even with their meditation, even at the same time, Vena had trouble understanding him. He tried so hard to help her interpret him beyond their feelings and connection, but it came to him with ease. He was stronger than her, so much so, that she had to believe he was on an infinitely different tier than what she could harness of their power. </p><p>“The Mandalorian and I missed the shot for something, or, no, maybe it’s better we didn’t do anything,” she said, when she sensed his sadness and direction towards the cockpit. “We’re leaving him, Baby. It would just hurt more than it already does.”  </p><p>The Child frowned. His disagreement was true and direct.</p><p>Vena shrugged. “At the end of the day, I can’t take advice from a baby.”</p><p>His sass was felt. </p><p>Vena pointed a finger at him. “Yes, you are technically older than me, but I am mentally ahead of you, and that’s that.”</p><p>The Child huffed and turned away from her. </p><p>•</p><p>Vena woke to an uneasy landing. She was jumbled awake with the soft crash of the Razor Crest, and moments later, the Mandalorian yelling, “Sorry!” as if he knew it what woken her.</p><p>Vena climbed from the bed at the same moment the Mandalorian and the Child appeared to exit the Crest. He handed her the Child as he fumbled with the panel on his arm, attempting to lower the back ramp of the Crest, but it stopped halfway, showing them only the tall half of the bustling and busy town. </p><p>Vena tilted her montral as she recognized footsteps incoming. Karga and Cara, she noted excitedly, to the Mandalorian. He glanced over at her, proudly, which she found odd, but neglected to comment on. </p><p>Vena waited impatiently for him to jump from the ramp ledge. She saw a glimpse of the flat earth, flat land, felt a decent climate, saw no more water, and she could have rejoiced. A normal planet—she didn’t realize how much she missed predictability. </p><p>The Mandalorian held his hands out to her. Vena clutched the Child in one arm and fell to her bottom at the edge of the ramp. The Mandalorian lightly gripped her ankles, then let his hands slide up the curves of her body as she lowered herself down, until she had landed on the ground smoothly. </p><p>“Thanks,” she mumbled, stealing a glance up at him. She could still feel the phantom feeling of his hands running up her body, though it lasted only a few seconds. She couldn’t meet his visor with the redness in her cheeks. <br/><br/>“Anytime,” he whispered back. </p><p>"Looks like someone could use some repairs!"</p><p>Vena turned, beaming, when she saw their familiar faces. “Oh, you two have no idea,” she said instantly. “I’ve almost died ten times over with this one.”</p><p>"It hasn’t been ten," said the Mandalorian defensively, before he reached forward and shook Karga’s hand, sighing at his and Cara’s chuckles. "How’s my credit around here?"</p><p>"I think something could be arranged. Isn’t  that right, Marshal?" asked Karga. </p><p>Cara grinned. “I’m sure we can work something out.”</p><p>"Marshal Dune, huh?" asked Vena, adding a low whistle. "What happened to laying low?”</p><p>”I discovered I’m pretty good at cleaning up towns,” said Cara casually. <br/><br/>“I think you just like beating people up,” said Vena.</p><p>”Yeah, that, too.”</p><p>Two people breezed past them, toolboxes in their hands, moving towards the Razor Crest. Vena’s montral went with them briefly as they passed, sensing a quick, fleeting feeling of recognition from one of them. She caught the eye of the one who turned, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at them, until they turned quickly and continued on.</p><p>”Hal?” mumbled the Mandalorian. “You okay?”</p><p>Vena turned when he touched her arm gently. She smiled up at him. “Probably nothing.”</p><p>Karga reached and took the Child from her arms. He all but squealed when he cuddled the Child close to him in a soft hug. </p><p>"Have they been taking care of you, Baby?" he asked softly and high-pitched. He turned and glared at Vena and the Mandalorian. “Have you been taking good care of him?" </p><p>"Of course we have," said the Mandalorian.</p><p>"’We’?" asked Vena, raising her brow up at him. "I seem to remember a few days ago where he almost choked on soup because of your negligence."</p><p>Karga almost screamed: "Soup?!"</p><p>The Mandalorian’s response was immediate: "She’s dramatic.”</p><p>Karga squinted at him, unwilling. “I’m sure she is."</p><p>Cara and Karga led them into town. It was nothing like before, when it was under the Empire’s control, which was the last time Vena had seen it. She thought it would be the first and only time she’d stepped foot on that planet, given that she had not expected to remain with the Mandalorian for so long. The return to Nevarro was a reminder that the galaxy was healing.</p><p>People filled the streets. People, real and maskless, genuine people, and not Stormtroopers. There were smiles and laughter and booths for trade, merchandise. There was color and life breathed into that town. </p><p>The Mandalorian was as intrigued by the drastic change as Vena was. "Looks like you two have been busy," he noted.</p><p>"I myself have been steeped in clerical work,” said Karga, then gestured beside him. "Marshal Dune here is to be thanked for cleaning up the town."</p><p>Cara smiled. "Your ships not lookin' too good."</p><p>The Mandalorian shrugged. "We had a run in with the New Republic."</p><p>"They should leave the Outer Rim alone," grumbled Karga. "If the Empire couldn't settle it, what makes them think they can?"</p><p>He had a point, Vena thought. It was part of the reason she chose to venture further into the Outer Rim—it’s slight chaos. The further from the capital, from the Inner Rim, the less the Empire, or anyone, could control. It proved to be dangerous for other reason—gangsters, cartels—but the one thing they hated more than other rivals was the Empire. Organized chaos, thought Vena. <br/><br/>Karga took them back to the cantina Or, the place that brought them closer, essentially. The place they’d learned each other’s names, and where they’d found out the Child was desired at great lengths and for a wretched fate.</p><p>Vena felt alright. She thought seeing the place would give her a nauseous feeling, remembering her anxiety over the fighting, her adrenaline higher than ever before. But she was okay. She saw the cantina and remembered hearing the Mandalorian’s name for the first time, and her own, and she looked back on it somewhat fondly. Only he had allowed her to use his name, although Cara and Karga both knew it, too. She looked over at him and smiled softly, unknowing to him. </p><p>Her gaze over at him brought her eyes to the courtyard in front of the place. Without her permission, her feet trudged a little, slowing herself down, the nausea pooling in her lower belly as she saw the courtyard and remembered the explosion. Her eyes blinked shut quickly, like she was reliving it over again, and her hand feel instinctively over her left montral. </p><p>“I’m sorry.”</p><p>Vena flinched as she heard the Mandalorian behind her. She turned briefly, seeing him beside her, and Karga and Cara waiting patiently at the opening of the building. They were smiling kindly at her, if not pitiful, and they all knew exactly what was on her mind. They’d all lost something that day—identities, secrets, lifestyles. Yet, the pity for Vena’s montral remained. </p><p>Vena rolled her eyes. “I chose it,” she said, pointing her finger against his chest, feigning an angry look. “I won’t accept your pity so stop it.”</p><p>He held onto her hand as she tried to pass him. “You’ve come so far, Hala. I want you to know that. I want you to know that I’m proud of you, for how you’ve adapted, and for being so resilient after all you’ve gone through.”</p><p>Vena couldn’t help the look of shock that passed over her face. It was unexpected to hear honest and true words from him, albeit it was still a quiet moment between them, distanced from their friends, but certainly spontaneous. From her perspective, at least. The more she thought on his words, the more it seemed that he’d planned to speak on his admiration for her.</p><p>”Thank you,” she mumbled shyly. “Thank you, Din.” </p><p>He nodded. He guided them back to where Cara and Karga were waiting. Karga opened the door, allowing Vena and the Mandalorian to enter first. </p><p>It had been converted into a school. There were tables with seats through the center of the building, filled with young children, watching patiently and quietly as the golden droid taught. There was light in there. Globes of various planets, miniatures of more planets, and a map of the major route systems.</p><p>Vena wanted to stay and learn, too. She envied the children, her heart warm by the opportunity of education for children so far from the Core. It wasn’t common, by any means.</p><p>Vena looked back at Karga and Cara. “This is wonderful, you guys.” </p><p>"Lot has changed around here," said Cara proudly. </p><p>"We'll leave the Little One here so we can talk business," offered Karga, reaching for the Child in the Mandalorian’s arms. </p><p>"'Business'?" asked Vena, quickly, at the same time the Mandalorian protested a fast, "Wait, no--"</p><p>But Karga swooped the Child from his arms.</p><p>"—wherever i go, he goes," the Mandalorian finished lamely, stepping for Karga as he tried to separate the Kid from them.</p><p>"Please," said Karga, somewhat pleading. "Where we're going, you don’t want to take a Child. Trust me."</p><p>"He'll be fine here,” promised Cara, placing a soft hand on Vena’s arm. “You have my word."</p><p>The Mandalorian looked back at Vena for confirmation, the same way she looked over at him. They hadn’t noticed their hands intertwined, in their panic of an unexpected departure from the Child. Awkwardly, they let go, and agreed. </p><p>Vena tucked her hands under her armpits as she watched Karga walk the Child to an open seat and set him down at a desk. He was barely tall enough to see over the wooden desk, and Vena frowned, which only deepened as the children in the class started to lean together with hushed whispers, aimed at the Child. Although the resounding feeling returning to Vena was curiosity, she still worried, knowing the Child could just as easily feel their emotions, too. </p><p>"What if they’re mean to him?” she whispered to the Mandalorian. “Is it wrong to beat up children?”</p><p>”Are you seriously asking that?” </p><p>Vena shrugged. “I feel very protective over him. Whether it’s the Empire or young children. Same threat, honestly. Detrimental to your mind, bullying is.”</p><p>”It’ll be alright,” said the Mandalorian. </p><p>Vena sent the Child out a wave of good luck, smiling as he turned and wiggled his ears at her, signaling he received her feelings. She then followed as their friends started to retreat and leave the class to their learning.</p><p>She and the Mandalorian walked side by side, behind Karga and Cara. </p><p>"Did you ever get bullied?" he asked her quietly.</p><p>Vena scoffed. “Of course. So stupid. We were already slaves. What more trauma did you need, you know? Apparently lots.”</p><p>The Mandalorian paused, confused. ”You were all around the same age?” </p><p>“Yes. It was kids in the camp. They’d rounded up the children on Kiros, we were bought, moved. I see why he bought children, though, ‘cause as soon as we were old enough to fight back, it was over, you know?” said Vena casually, as if he would.</p><p>She surprised herself with how fluidly the conversation was leaving her lips. She hadn’t talked about her slave camp experience in years at the rate she just divulged to him. She fell quiet, as he did, wondering if she had gone too deep too soon. </p><p>“I was bullied, too,” he said softly.</p><p>Vena forgot her internal struggle immediately. “Who?!” she snapped. </p><p>He was amused by her anger. “I don’t remember,” he chuckled.</p><p>She didn’t believe him, but said nothing of it. “If you remember, let me know. I’ll track them down and beat them up for you.”</p><p>”You couldn’t track someone down if you tried.”</p><p>”Maybe not, but I’d bat by eyelashes, and I might know a Bounty Hunter who would if I asked nicely.” </p><p>“Oh yeah?”</p><p>Vena grinned up at him. She nudged softly into his side. “Yeah.” </p><p>Immense fear slammed into her as she stepped through the doorway with the Mandalorian at her side. Fear was exploding from a man at the front desk of an office they were now in, a Mythrol. He looked paralyzed with fear as he stared at the Mandalorian, wide eyed, and Vena did a double-take as she registered amusement from the man beside her. </p><p>Karga looked amused, too. “I believe you two have met.”</p><p>A blue powder puffed from Mythrol’s neck. He didn’t even look over at Vena; his eyes were frozen on the Mandalorian, and he flinched heavily as the Mandalorian leaned casually on the desk he was at with one hand. </p><p>"Surprised to see you here,” said the Mandalorian charmingly. </p><p>Mythrol nodded awkwardly. "Right back at ya."</p><p>"Mythrol here's taken care of my books since he was a pollywog. But then he disappeared one day after a bit of 'creative accounting,’” explained Karga, to Vena, as she was watching slightly horrified at the exchange. </p><p>"Magistrate Karga was generous enough to let me work off my debt,” Mythrol said quickly.</p><p>Karga smiled. "Three hundred and fifty years, but who's counting?"</p><p>The Mandalorian nodded. "Well, if he runs off on you again, let me know."</p><p>Vena rolled her eyes. She was absolutely going to tease him on his power play with the poor Mythrol, especially when he was so awkward and shy in front of her. So he liked a bit of fear, she thought, shaking her head. She hadn’t feared him once since they’d met. Maybe that’s why they found themselves in such a strange position, now—Vena didn’t fear him like so many others did, because she could feel him. How gentle he was, how much capability he had to care. From the first moment she reached out to sense him, it had been there. How could you fear a man like that?</p><p>"Let me assure you, I do not wanna spend anymore time in carbonite. I still can’t see outta my left eye!” gasped Mythrol.</p><p>“Right,” said Vena, interrupting as kindly as possible. “Very sorry to hear that, but can we talk business now? I assumed Mando and I were only here for repairs."</p><p>"They'll take a while, which means you’ll have free time on your hands,” said Cara. </p><p>“Or you’re purposely making the mechs take long so we’ll stay around longer,” challenged Vena.</p><p>Cara grinned. “Who knows?”</p><p>”Who knows,” Vena said, rolling her eyes. She looked over at the Mandalorian for confirmation, which he gave, through his feelings, and nothing more, knowing she was attuned to him on an unconscious level. They both did, oddly enough. "Help how?" </p><p>Cara reached onto her desk, then projected the planet they were on in front of their eyes.</p><p>"We're here," she pointed, towards the bottom of the planet. “This entire area's a green zone. Completely safe. "</p><p>"I’m guessing the red is where we’re headed," said Vena, eyeing it.</p><p>Cara nodded and enlarged the landscape before them.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> It showed the mountainous terrain, before it showed the makings of a building. A base. Imperial, they knew, immediately. </span></p><p>"It’s where all those troops came from when we defeated Moff Gideon. This base has been here since the Imperial expansion, its got a skeleton crew, but for some reason, it hasn’t  been abandoned,” said Cara.</p><p>"There’s a lot of heavy weaponry in that place the Black Market would love to dismantle and get their hands on,” said Karga.</p><p>The Mandalorian sighed, hooking his thumbs into his belt. “And you want to mop up the last of the Imperial Force before they do."</p><p>"I just want them off my planet," disagreed Karga honestly. “If we could take out that one last base, Nevarro would be completely safe. We could be a trade anchor for the entire sector."</p><p>"The planet would finally be free,” agreed Cara. </p><p>A possible liberation on their hands. The Mandalorian didn’t even have to look over at Vena to know she was in, to free the people, at the very least. He nodded, for the both of them. "What are we looking at?"</p><p>•</p><p>With a plan in motion and the details configured, the four decided to meet first thing in the morning. By the time they were back, the Crest would be repaired, they would have liberated a planet, and then be on their merry way. Or, at least, that’s how Karga summarized it. A lot more would have to happen between then, but he wasn’t too concerned about much else than the bigger picture. </p><p>Vena and the Mandalorian enjoyed a free stay at an inn in town. The three of them at an inn, together, again. Vena could have laughed at the replicant night. </p><p>“Did you learn a lot today at school?” </p><p>She paused as she exited the shower. With the water off, and the thin walls, she could hear the Mandalorian speaking to the Child. </p><p>“You probably did,” answered the Mandalorian for the Child. It was followed by a sigh. “I don’t know how Hal talks to you so fluidly. I’m trying.”</p><p>The Baby cooed. Vena could imagine his hand reaching to make the Mandalorian feel better—his ‘I know’. <br/><br/>“Just a little longer with me, then you guys will be on your way, hm?” he said softly. “Off to do Jedi things. Don’t even know what that entails, really. Hopefully safety, for one, even though Hal’s kinda bad at that aspect of life.”</p><p>Vena resisted the urge to scoff. He was not one to critique her on her safety strategies.</p><p>She couldn’t help but feel saddened by the way he spoke to the Child. Again, she felt guilty about his knowledge; his true assumption that she was a Jedi and leaving him, too. But it was heartwarming, to know his soft side exerted most when they were alone together. The Mandalorian knew, on some level, that the Child was different and communicated differently, but he still tried. What he promised her, on their first meeting, that he was trying to speak to the Child, was true. She wondered how many conversations she had missed out on. </p><p>Vena stopped listening. She dressed herself, slowly, to give them more time together before she had no choice but to exit the bathroom. <br/><br/>The Child was asleep in the center of the bed by the time she returned. </p><p>Vena joined the Mandalorian at the seats by the window. It wasn’t much of a view, besides the Main Street of the town, and it was growing dark and quiet. They still managed to watch the people pass by, in a comfortable silence.</p><p>Until Vena couldn’t hold it in anymore: “So, you get off on peoples fear, huh?"</p><p>He turned. “What?”</p><p>”Mythrol.”</p><p>"No, I don't."</p><p>"I think you do."</p><p>"You’re allowed to think."</p><p>"Oh, thank you, dear Mandalorian."</p><p>He changed the subject. “Hal, honestly, are you okay being back? Last time we were here...”</p><p>She nodded. “Fine, actually,” she admitted. “I’m alright. It’s so nice to see what Cara and Karga have done. Looks amazing out here. And it’s so nice to see that the Empire hasn’t  ruined everything, still, all these years later, and to know that there is a chance for everything and everyone to grow and be reborn from ruin."</p><p>“Have you been anywhere else but Sorgan since the Empire fell?” he asked.</p><p>Vena shook her head. “Planet hopped for a long time until it was official. Then I went to Sorgan for a fresh start, I suppose. I missed the up and come of the rest of the galaxy.”</p><p>”You’ll see it one day,” he muttered, looking away from her.</p><p>”You gonna show me?” she asked.</p><p>He turned back to her, surprised. She turned away from him, her hand sliding somewhat over her mouth. She was surprising herself a lot with what was exiting her lips. She cursed herself for the mixed signals, as unintentional as they were, knowing that they were a clear sign of her subconscious knowing she would be leaving him soon. She wanted. What exactly she wanted, Vena had no idea or even an intention, but her mouth running from her mind hinted to both of them that she wasn’t exactly ready to leave him behind just yet.</p><p>The Mandalorian did her the pleasure of changing the subject once more. “Tomorrow, Hal, it’s an Imperial Base. Now I'm not gonna ask, but..."</p><p>"Yes, I'm going along," she said with a small smile. "Thanks for not arguing, though. That's growth."</p><p>He nodded. "That's two run in's with the Imp’s within a few weeks. What's got your confidence up?"</p><p>Being a step closer to meeting a real and true Jedi, she wanted to say, because it was true. Knowing that she was days away from knowing more about the subtle power inside of her was exciting, riveting, and she didn’t care much about the risk or the surroundings, with the anticipation she felt. She just wanted to meet this Jedi. Prove herself. Know herself. Whatever got her there faster, so be it, even a run-in with the Empire.</p><p>But, as they both knew, getting to the Jedi faster meant the faster her and the Mandalorian would be separated. The closer they were to all of this ending.</p><p>"Not sure," she decided to say, forcing a smile. "One last dangerous ride, though, huh?”</p><p>He nodded again. “You’ve come pretty far with the violence since I first met you.”</p><p>Vena rolled her eyes. “The Baby and I don’t condone your violence but we accept it.”</p><p>”Oh, yeah, did he tell you that?”</p><p>"Yes, of course. We’ve bonded,” she teased, then winked at him. “Alien things, only, sorry."</p><p>"Oh?” he asked playfully. “So you do know I’m not an alien.” </p><p>"Not to sound like a repressed handmaiden, but, yes, you're not exactly slick. I saw your neck when you lifted your helmet. Sorry to say I know you're human under there, now."</p><p>“I won’t send the Mandalorian Patrol after you for knowing,” he said, and she whipped her head to him, but he chuckled. “Kidding,” he assured her, then he nodded over at the sleeping Child. "I bet he’s upset about losing the bet."</p><p>Vena looked at him, too. "Well, not too upset, 'cause I didnt make him pay up. Too cute."</p><p>The Mandalorian couldn’t take his eyes from her as she watched the Child sleep, her lips stuck out subtly, noticing immediately how fondly and carefully she watched him. She loved him, so dearly, and with her, he knew he wouldn’t have to worry about the Kid once he left them with the Jedi. <br/> <br/>He sighed quietly. That thought again—them leaving. </p><p>Vena turned when she sensed his change of emotion. Her face was neutral, yet scared, all in the same. “You’re having some thoughts, aren’t you?”</p><p>He nodded once, tapping his foot absentmindedly. Nervously. “Hal, I just want you to know—“</p><p>”Din, let’s not, okay?” she asked him quietly. She was pleading, a little bit, and he could see the tears threatening to well in her eyes. “No more confessions. No more goodbyes. We both know our time together is coming to a close and I... I just want to live it out."</p><p>But again, even after she was honest with him, he wanted to do exactly what she didn’t want him to. He wanted to tell her he was thinking. Badly. He had lifted his helmet in front of her because it was a subtle show, something he could do and not feel terrible about, because eating was a necessity. He showed her a slice of vulnerability. He wanted that to do something to prove that he could make a sacrifice, too, if that was her worry.</p><p>His Creed was on his mind, the one thing that he had control of. It was just his face; just his face he couldn’t show. </p><p>Things had changed. He was floating, now. Where before he met the Child and he’d met Vena, he knew so assuredly about his place in life because of his Creed and his way, he didn’t  have to think. He didn’t have time to think. They’d slowed him down. He liked them, both, in his ship, traveling with them, getting into good trouble, sometimes. Living on Kiros with them. Having something to come back home, back to the ship to. He was going to miss them, and their rapidly ending clock was forcing him to think about his Creed in relation to what he felt for that beautiful Togruta woman. He’d be lying if he said she didn’t scare the poodoo out of him based on how easy it was for him to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> reassess his Creed for almost nothing more than a night with her. For <em>something </em>with her. </span></p><p>He had always been the man to let the world pass by. To make do with what he’d been dealt. But with Vena, as he looked at her, her beauty, her gentleness, the way she had made him feel so protective over her and worrisome and how lovely it had been to be involved in her life, he couldn't let her pass by. Maybe his expression would make no difference and maybe she wouldn't stay, but he wanted to try. Damned if it made him look like a fool. </p><p>"You're thinking hard," she told him quietly.</p><p>"Don’t ask me to stop thinking," he said, when she opened her mouth.</p><p>She chuckled. "Caught me."</p><p>"You said this wont work because of my Creed," he told her.</p><p>She became defensive: "And, other things, okay, it's not just you. It’s both of us. The situation. I don’t want you to think it's you, Din, please. I would never discourage you from your Creed or any of it. That came long before me--"</p><p>"I know that you said it's done," he interrupted her, quietly, so she would have to stop to listen to him. He was pleading, almost, at that point. "I know. But<em> I</em> can do something about it, and about how I feel about you, and do something to... Make you reconsider, maybe, or just for you to know."</p><p>Vena went pale. Discomfort set into her features, by the grimace on her face, the way her eyes widened slightly, the pausing of her entire body as she watched him, listened to him, intrigued but terrified to know where he was going with his statement. He was entering the resolution he'd come to and that she had felt from him.</p><p>"Din, we're fine," she told him, reaching for his hand. "We're alright. I'm sorry that we can't--"</p><p>He interrupted her again, this time, with allowing her grip on his gloved hand to slide off the glove. She stopped herself from talking as she noted the limp weight of the glove in her hand and she lowered her eyes quickly to his hand before they shot back up again, horrified, and she stood, gripping his glove in her hand, but distancing herself from him. </p><p>"I'm sorry," she muttered, turning her back to him. </p><p>"You don't have to be," he told her. </p><p>While she was distanced from him, he took the time to shed his armor. He took off his cloak, the jetpack, his armor, everything, until he was left with just the helmet on, his loose brown shirt, and his pants. The bare essentials. He watched her as he did so, smiling softly at her commitment to remain with her back to him, as if seeing him without his armor was sinful. As if they hadn't already been sleeping with one layer of clothing between them for months. </p><p>"Hala, can you turn around?" he asked her. </p><p>"What are you doing?" she asked him quietly.</p><p>"My Creed says no one else can see my face. <em>Just</em> my face."</p><p>Vena shook her head. Her hands rested on her cheeks. "I don't deserve any of this," she muttered to him. "You're rethinking your Creed, you're making stupid decisions all for what, Din? A stupid girl? Someone we both know is leaving you in mere days," she said, exasperated, gaining the courage to turn around, though she continued to look at his visor and not dare to look anywhere else. "I won't let you do this for me, not when I don't deserve it, when you deserve someone better and someone who can stay and--"</p><p>He pulled his hands away from her when she tried to reach for them, aiming to shove his gloves back on, and he bypassed her to hold her by her face. He rested his soft hands on her face, his thumbs on her warm cheeks, his hands fitting so perfectly on her defined face that it made both of them falter, momentarily, before she could do nothing more except be silenced. It was natural. It felt perfect. His hands were perfect as they cradled her face, and defeated, all she could do was look up into his visor, and settle her hands over his wrists gently. </p><p>"I know you're leaving," he whispered to her. "Known it from the start. But it didn't change anything. Nothing has changed how I have come to feel about you—“</p><p>”It should!” she snapped, but when the Baby turned in his sleep, she remembered she needed to be quiet. She was fearful as she looked up at him. “You know what I am. And we’re enemies. Our people.”</p><p>The Mandalorian was almost offended. He was dejected by her claim, assuredly. He felt so strongly against her claim that he sat down, suddenly, all of it then making sense to him. It was not so much of a safety precaution against the Empire that she kept her secret—it was him. His people, his Creed. She’d spent months thinking he was her enemy. It had to be why she didn’t let herself fall for him, and it was absolutely why she did not tell him, he understood quickly. He followed his Creed like a lifeline. Of course she had assumed he would take the same viewpoint, too.</p><p>”Hal, no,” he uttered, shaking his head. “No, no. We are not enemies. Not you and I, not ever.” </p><p>Vena frowned, too. “I just didn’t know.”</p><p>”I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “You spent all this time thinking that I... I... Dank farrik, Hal, I would never hurt you. Ever. I...”</p><p>At his clear loss of words, Vena only felt worse. She couldn’t have known he would be hurt by her thoughts. It was rational. It was what he would’ve done, too, she guessed, but it hurt her to see him so torn over her clear disregard for his true feelings versus his spoken word. She had to remember she was just keeping herself safe. For that, he couldn’t be upset. </p><p>“I need you to know how I feel, because I’ve screwed up,” he managed to get out. “It’s my fault nothing happened between us and it’s my fault I made you feel like you couldn’t tell me any of it.”</p><p>”That is not true. I don’t tell anybody. Not even Omera, not...” she paused. “I just don’t. You only know because you’re a Hunter, you watched me, you knew me. At least, when I leave you, you know I’m still alive.” </p><p>He remembered. Vena had tragically “died” on the planets she previously lived on to cover her trail. She was used to leaving, and to putting herself first, before anyone else’s grief over losing her. He had to wonder if she felt anything by leaving him behind, at that rate...</p><p>Her eyes shot up to his. “I do. Don’t you dare think that  I don't feel bad. But they can't know I'm alive. Especially not now, that I am a Jedi, anyone who knows is a target, especially with the Imps being after the Kid, and it makes anyone who knows liable and in danger. I'd rather them think me dead and be safe than any other alternative."</p><p>He knew then why she didn't tell him. He had enough on his plate. He was enough of a target by himself. She intended to keep it a secret to keep him safe, because he had offered her so much in return, it was the one thing she could do for him. And he'd pushed and pushed against it, thinking it was because she didn't trust him. If only he'd thought a little harder. Maybe he could've convinced her to give him another chance.</p><p>"But I'm not them,” he begged her to understand. “I don’t know. I can’t change your mind or make you trust me more, maybe, but I just need you to know how I feel, because I don't know if I'll feel this way ever again. I've never known anyone like you. I don't want to."</p><p>Vena closed her eyes in shame. Although his intention was not to guilt her into anything, she felt guilty. She felt terrible for engaging in their temptations and for being attuned to his feelings for her. She wished she had never known how he felt about her, and she especially wished she could turn it off, ignore him, stop feeling his feelings, but she couldn't. It was kind and honest and true and he had grown to adore her, despite her secret keeping and their bickering and his constant self-sacrifice or his stoicism, or any of it--she adored him, too. Maybe it was the product of being thrown together on a tiny ship for several months or maybe it was their consistent near-death experiences that heightened their interest in each other, but it didn't matter, because they both felt it. Whatever it was. And the temptation to act on it was only greater with the understanding that their time together was ending. </p><p>Vena took his hands away from her face and looked at them. His hands were large, rightfully so, but they were so soft. She touched his hands, her palms reaching under the backs of his hands, turning his palms for her eyes to see. His fingers were solid and strong, his fingers were so far from being calloused, unlike her own. Her fingers tapped along the veins that bulged from the back of his hand. His hands were warm, and shaky, too, which made her giggle, because they were both shaking, nervous messes in front of each other.</p><p>"What?" he asked her.</p><p>"Pale," she joked, and he pulled his hands away from her, but she laughed and grabbed his hands, him, pulling him back and to her chest, where their chests were together, now, their hands between them, and Vena was grinning up at him, her eyes squinted with laughter, her mouth opened with a grin."I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said, but she wasn't, really.</p><p>"I don't want you to expect anything, or do anything with me," he said to her, taking a step back to look at her. "I'm not telling you any of this because I want you to do anything with me. I don't expect it to change anything. I just need you to know."</p><p>"Believe me, I know," Vena sighed, pressing a kiss to the back of his hand. "Lets not forget how easily I can feel you."</p><p>"Then tell me what you feel."</p><p>Vena shook her head, chuckling. "No."</p><p>"I'm asking you," the Mandalorian continued. "Tell me what I feel for you. Make it make sense."</p><p>"It won't," she told him. "What we feel for each other, it's lust, it's admiration, it's interest, sure, but it's at its end, my dear. This is nothing I haven't known, nor you. You have felt so different to me, than anyone else I've spent time with. I'm drawn to you because you're a good man, you're honest and you're kind and you're good. That's just it. And I'm thrilled you feel some fraction of the same way, I absolutely do, but you and I don't need more tragedy to our lives. We just don't." </p><p>He thought about the reasons he felt the way he did towards her. She was beautiful, he thought instantly, and the mere thought brought a clench to his chest. She had described him entirely without physical means. A good man, honest, kind. And the first thought he had was about her appearance. </p><p>He felt worse, then. He could sometimes forget that Vena didn't know him, not physically. She knew his emotions His actions, his words. But how could she have a physical attraction when she didn't know his touch or his face or how he felt with her? She had no idea of what his face looked like, or his skin. She had never even heard his real voice--</p><p>"No, stop, stop," she said quickly, feeling his pity, his grief. "Stop. It's okay. Everything's okay. I like you for you, regardless of the Creed, not knowing what you look like, because it doesn't matter. I know you here," she said, her hand on his chest. "Here," she said again and put her hand on his helmet.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> "</span>And you know me, too. The only thing I've kept from you is my secret. The rest is me. You know me."</p><p>He resisted the urge to say that his believed secret of hers was quite a big part of her identity, but, he supposed, it also wasn't. The only thing she was keeping from him was using her power in front of him, or others. And it was for the collective safety of Vena, the Child, and himself. Safety was the same reason he hid himself.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> She had trusted him to know and leave him knowing, and now, he was trusting her with a small part of his identity. Both were well indicators of the lengths they trusted the other, as well as reasons they, ultimately, would not work together. </span></p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">"I think you're very brave," she said to him. "You've had the bravery to tell me how you feel, you've kept my secret, you've taken risks for the Child and I to remain with you. You trusted a random woman to have your back, and to show your hands, to feel safe enough to remove your armor. If we get nothing more from this, Din, I hope it brings you to understand what a lovely man you are. And how lucky someone will be to be loved by you." </span>
</p><p><span class="Apple-converted-space">The Mandalorian sighed. Her words, though nice, changed nothing. "</span>I don't know what I hoped for."</p><p>"You hoped for something returned, Din, and you've got it," Vena assured him. "But it's hard enough knowing you're going to say goodbye to the Baby and to me. It's better to end it before something could begin. We're lucky to have crossed paths, but I have to follow my instincts...That feeling inside of me." </p><p>"The feeling that brought you to me," he smiled softly. </p><p>"Don't forget it." </p><p>He huffed. "You leave all your love interests tragically behind?"</p><p>Vena shrugged. "Well, the last one died, so I'm hoping that's not the case for you."</p><p>His eyes could've fell from his head. He immediately apologized, to which Vena shook her head, insisting it was okay. </p><p>"It's been a long time, I've had time to heal," she told him honestly. </p><p>He wanted to take a guess: "The woman who gave you the bracelet."</p><p>Vena nodded. She didn't seem shocked by his good memory, as he often remembered and listened intently to her when she did speak, mostly about her past. "My Breha saved me, after I escaped the camp. She taught me most of what I know. I loved her, I was going to stay with her for my life, or as long as she'd have me, and then she died. And I turned to sex work because I thought it would help me detach. Thought it would help me think of myself a different way, detach, distance myself from falling again, forget her. And I did. I have. But there was no one else. And it's been a long time since her," she admitted.</p><p>He was afraid to say it. He didn't want to sound insensitive.</p><p>"Until you, yes," she whispered, laughing. "You both felt a similar way. Curious. Kind. Quiet. Trying, in a big, wide galaxy, to do the right thing. You remind me of her, in those regards, but you infuriate me like she never did."</p><p>The Mandalorian flushed under his helmet. "Wish I could say I was sorry."</p><p>"I'm sure you aren't," she said, grinning. "But I meant what I said on Nevarro, the last time we were here. I'll find you in another life. One where we don't have to worry about our safety and I can know you, truly, and you the same. I think it would work, then."</p><p>That, he could agree on. If he couldn't have her, then, in any way, it would be left for another time. He could hope that their paths would cross again, in the future, when she was a Jedi and maybe he wasn't a Bounty Hunter anymore. <br/><br/>For now, they existed in a reality where their need for security set them apart. And that would have to be okay. </p><p>“However,” said Vena brightly. She held him close to her, adjusting his hands, and ordered for the powered down droid in the corner to turn on a radio. “Since you are so eager to be close to me, you may dance with me for a change."</p><p>The Mandalorian tried to exit. "Alright, just because I took my armor off doesn't mean—"</p><p>"It does," she said, already swinging him around into a dance. She moved her feet and her body while he stood there, until she wrapped an arm around his back and tilted him side to side, until he gave up and gave in and took her waist with one hand and her hand in the other and clutched her hand to his chest, and he shifted his weight between his feet, moving slowly.</p><p>Vena grinned and put her head to his chest. She felt better. Relieved. She felt as though it was truly over, then, and resolved for a final time. There was no better way to spin in than that they both deserved something more and something better. Something real.</p><p>Someone would come along, again, she hoped he knew. Someone who could stay. She hoped whoever he chose to spend his life with could handle deciphering and interpreting his messages. Boy, was he a handful.</p><p>"You're going to make some lady so happy one day," she said quietly.</p><p>“I don’t know,” he muttered, dejected. "I feel as though I’ve only ever had eyes for you.” </p><p>Vena smiled and turned her cheek further into his chest. They danced for a little bit, to the quiet noise of the droid’s radio, just close and together, before he guided them to bed.</p><p>Then, they slept together, holding each other, Vena’s back to his chest and his arms around her waist, tucking her securely into his warm body. His helmet was hard against the back of her head but she didn't mind it. She felt him. She'd never been so close to him, yet so far.</p><p>But for both of them, the temptation wasn't there. It was enough, to be holding hands, to feel the skin on his ridden up T-shirt against her own rising t shirt. There was a physicality to them that was sensual, not sexual, and comforting. Deserved.</p><p>And once more, Din whispered into her ear, "You are beautiful, Hal," and she fell asleep, pretending she didn't feel the vibration of him say something, allowing him to keep his secrets, but being entrapped in his arms and in his feelings of adoration for her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. The Others</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A knock on the door jerked both the Mandalorian and Vena awake, and quickly. His arm tightened around her waist, throwing his shoulder over her, hiding her, but as they realized it was indeed just a knock, his posture softened. He fell back beside her in bed, his arms, and his warmth seceding from on top of Vena. <br/><br/>“It’s Karga and Cara,” Vena mumbled.</p><p>She ran her hands down her face. She arched her back with a stretch that shook her whole body. She turned to see the Child still asleep on the clear other side of the bed, unbothered by the two beside him. It was then she realized how much space they had actually given him, when they spent the entire night entangled in each other. </p><p>“Did you sleep okay?” <br/><br/>Vena turned her head to his helmet. He was already looking over at her. One arm was underneath his helmet, propping his head, and the other was outstretched between the small space separating their bodies. She felt a warmth climb from her lower belly the longer she stared at him, and she was trying to stutter her way through a response, when Karga hit the door again.</p><p>“Hello? You two awake yet?” <br/><br/>“We’ll be right out!” Vena called back. </p><p>“Alright!” said Cara through the door. She scoffed. “I bet they did it.”</p><p>”Please,” muttered Karga, almost offended. “It’s definitely not their first time.”</p><p>”I can hear you!” snapped Vena. <br/><br/>Their silence was telling. “We’ll... Uh—“ Karga started awkwardly. “Be outside!”</p><p>Vena giggled as they embarrassingly shuffled away from the door. </p><p>The Mandalorian nudged her hand. “What?” he mumbled. She could hear the smile in his voice as he watched her laugh.</p><p>”They’re being stupid,” she dismissed.</p><p>She pushed herself up from the bed and took his hand in her own, feeling his fingers, locking their hands, cradling the feeling of his touch in against her own skin. His hand was loose as she did so, until he took control of their hands and brought them to her lips. She smiled and pressed a kiss to the back of his hand, letting her lips linger on his skin, before she let their hands fall gently back to the bed.</p><p>”I slept perfect last night,” she whispered to him. “But it’s time for us to head back to the real world now.” </p><p>The Mandalorian tried to ignore the twinge of pain that shot through his heart. Right, he thought. Reality. No more confessions or quiet moments in an inn for them.</p><p>”Right,” he agreed, before she could pick up on his disappointment. “You get the Kid, I’ll get dressed?”</p><p>Vena smiled through her own pain. “Of course.” </p><p>Vena turned her body to the Child at the edge of the bed. She climbed over to him, resting on her side, and wiggling a finger into his curled hands. Her other fingers stretched across his stomach and she wiggled all her fingers; a soft sensation to draw him from his deep sleep. </p><p>”Time to get up, my little pateesa,” she muttered to him. </p><p>He was dreaming again. She settled her head on the pillow and felt his thoughts for a quiet moment, the usual dream involving herself and the Mandalorian. This one was back on Kiros, with his two caretakers, getting into trouble like they always tended to do. </p><p>Vena sighed. She hoped he could keep the Mandalorian in his dreams and in his thoughts, long after they were separated. If she could remain around the Child, she would keep his memory alive. She could not allow the Child to ever forget someone he loved so dearly, if she had the ability to. </p><p>Her sadness woke him. Infiltrated his dream, most likely, on accident, which brought a confused look to his face when he opened his eyes. He cooed and crawled on top of Vena, forcing her onto her back as he wrapped his arms around her neck and snuggled into her shoulder. He was forcing his happiness into her, slamming her with it, hoping to cure her.</p><p>”I’m alright, I’m alright,” she whispered to him, rubbing his back. “I’m just thinking about our time together, my dear.” </p><p>“Ba-ba do?” he asked her. </p><p>“You’re right. No more sad,” she agreed. She looked over at the Mandalorian. She couldn’t help the falter of her smile as she saw him pull his gloves on over his hands, but she persisted. “Hear that, Mando? Baby says we’re not allowed to be sad to say goodbye anymore.”</p><p>”Tough rule,” he told them. He set his hands on his waist. “Are you two going to lay in bed for the rest of the morning or are we going to go?”</p><p>”Ba.”</p><p>”He’s right—the sun isn’t even up yet,” Vena whined for the both of them.</p><p>”Well, then I guess I’ll just have to drag you both out of—“ At their screams, and the Mandalorian’s quick feet to the edge of the bed, Vena threw herself out and towards the door. The Mandalorian stood triumphantly. “That’s what I thought.” </p><p>Vena and the Baby squinted their eyes at him, their noses matching in their angry scrunches. </p><p>“Meanie,” said Vena.</p><p>”Got you out of bed, didn’t it?” </p><p>Vena tossed her cloak on over her clothes. She and the Child used the refresher, giggling the entire time the door was closed for whatever reason—the Mandalorian was not sure he even wanted to know—and when they exited, they proclaimed they were both ready to go. </p><p>“You’re going back to school today,” the Mandalorian said as he picked up the Child from the floor.</p><p>Vena followed behind him as they exited the room and headed to find Cara and Karga. </p><p>The Child immediately started to protest. The Mandalorian swung around, tilting his helmet at Vena, before he turned again to lead them down the hall.</p><p>”What?!” she exclaimed, causing the Child’s ears to turn down as he was intrigued by her reaction. “Baby, you get to go back to school for another day? I’m so jealous. Think about all the cool things you’re gonna tell us tonight when we see you!”</p><p>”Like star maps,” the Mandalorian tried to help.</p><p>”Yep, like star maps, and trade routes, and whatever else your lovely teacher will go through,” encouraged Vena. “You’re gonna get snacks, too, I’m sure.”</p><p>With that, the Child was convinced. He started to wiggle out of the Mandalorian’s grasp when they entered the courtyard and he hugged his leg, then Vena’s, before he took his little legs and sprinted towards the door to the school, where other small children were headed, too.</p><p>The Mandalorian and Vena watched him go, until they could not see beyond the door he disappeared behind.</p><p>A speeder pulled up beside them. Mythrol was driving. He awkwardly nodded at them before he set his eyes forward and didn’t move. Cara smiled at them from the passengers seat, and Karga sat with a polite smile in the back.</p><p>“Good morning,” greeted Cara.</p><p>”You both thought it was,” teased Vena.</p><p>”What?” asked the Mandalorian quickly.<br/><br/>“80 feet,” proclaimed Vena. “Make it at least 80 feet away from me before you start gossiping about us.” </p><p>“Noted,” chimed Cara and Karga together. “Sorry,” added Cara sheepishly.</p><p>Vena smiled. “No harm.”</p><p>As she climbed into the speeder, the Mandalorian shook his head. “What? What did I miss?”</p><p>”Oh, nothing,” said Vena, waving her hand. “Now will you get in so we can go kick some Imp ass?”</p><p>The Mandalorian hesitated, after seeing how close Vena was sitting in preparation to fit him in the backseat, too, but he climbed in. Vena, Karga, and him shuffled around for several minutes, trying to fit, before Vena gave in and sat somewhat on the Mandalorian’s lap, solely to give Karga more space. They had almost died together, sure, which caused an increased familiarity to their relationship, but neither of them necessarily wanted to be on top of each other in the back of a rinky dink speeder. </p><p>“Everybody good?” asked Mythrol.</p><p>A chorus of ‘yes’ hit his ears and he took off into the land beyond the city. </p><p>Vena relaxed against the Mandalorian. He hesitantly placed one hand gently on the side of her thigh, helping to hold her in place, as she held onto the seats in front of her for balance, too.  </p><p>“You’re a little close to me, Hal,” he mumbled into her montral. </p><p>Vena rolled her eyes and tilted her head against his helmet.</p><p>“Wish I could say I was sorry,” she whispered back, glancing up at him playfully. </p><p>Karga was oblivious to their short conversation. He started to shout over the wind, detailing their plan and the specs, to remind everyone as they approached the base. </p><p>“The whole base is powered by a reactor,” he told them. </p><p>"We sneak in, overload the reactor, then get the Hell out of there," said Cara.</p><p>"Let's be fast," agreed the Mandalorian. "And keep the speeder running."</p><p>Karga pointed, drawing everyone’s eye. “There. Up there.” </p><p>At the top of the valley, ahead, sat a dark, camouflaged base built into the rocks of the mountain. </p><p>"How close do you want me to drop you off?" asked Mythrol. </p><p>"Front door."</p><p>"It's a little close for a civilian, isn't it?" he asked nervously.</p><p>Karga growled. "I got two choices for ya. You take us in and I knock a hundred years off your debt. Or I leave you out here in the lava flats to walk home with whatever's left in your humidity vest."</p><p>Mythrol sighed. "Well, that's not much of a choice, is it?" he muttered, but obliged.</p><p>Mythrol stopped the speeder underneath the platform of the base. There was a door a few feet away. When the speeder powered off, and there was quiet, Vena asked them to wait for her to listen.</p><p>”What you got, V?” asked Cara quietly.</p><p>Vena lifted her head to the platform. “Door is an elevator. There’s Troopers up there. Four or five.”</p><p>Karga and Cara climbed out of the speeder, drawing their blasters as they did so. </p><p>The Mandalorian and Vena exited, too, though they waited to draw their blasters. They were watching and listening, the lookouts, as they all gathered at the door. </p><p>The Mandalorian inspected the door. “Controls are useless. They’re melted.”</p><p>"It's probably not rated for lava," said Karga. </p><p>"Alright!" said Mythrol, and they realized he hadn’t left the speeder. “Well, I'm headed back so hit me up on the comm, we'll set up a rendezvous time."</p><p>Karga pointed his finger aggressively. "You park your gills right there until I say otherwise."</p><p>"I'm starting to dehydrate, boss...”</p><p>"How does thirty more years off your debt sound?"</p><p>"Can you at least be quick?" he whined.</p><p>"You wanna be quick about it, grab the flange cutter and help us out!"</p><p>Vena looked over at the Mandalorian as he left her side. She watched him as he set his hands on his belt, and his helmet tilted to the platform above their heads. She stepped back as Mythrol approached to aid Cara and Karga. She crossed her arms as she stood next to the Mandalorian.</p><p>"You thinking what I am?" he asked her. </p><p>"Probably,” she agreed.</p><p>He opened an arm up to her and she stepped close to his side, placing her own foot lightly on his padded boot, he wrapped an arm around her waist tightly, then they shot up with his jetpack and to the platform. </p><p>Their blasters drew quickly, faster than the Troopers, with the element of surprise. They were able to subdue a few Troopers with their blasters until their presence was alerted. <br/><br/>Vena grabbed him by the arm to jerk him away from a blast too close for her comfort. She let go when a Trooper shot past her, rapidly, causing her and the Mandalorian to break apart from each other. She tossed her hand out and ripped the blaster from the Troopers hand before she ran for him and shoved her boot into his chest, kicking him from the platform.  </p><p>“Nice kick,” said the Mandalorian, quietly, behind her.</p><p>Vena flinched, her heart still pounding from the fight, until she noticed the Troopers had been taken care of. It was just them, standing close to one another, despite all of the open space the platform offered. She smiled at him, relaxing the tension in her shoulders. </p><p>"Really, you think so?" she asked. </p><p>The elevator doors opened behind them, causing their heads to snap in the direction of the oncoming people. It was Karga and Cara, and an annoyed Mythrol trudging behind them. </p><p>The Mandalorian stepped forward to meet them. "Empty base, huh?" </p><p>Karga sighed. “I thought so,” he muttered, but pushed through the collective annoyance. "The reactor should be set in the heat shaft. If we drain the cooling lines, this whole base will go up in a matter of minutes."</p><p>Mythrol squeaked suddenly, causing all of them to reach for their blasters, but when he practically sprinted over to a covered vehicle, they relaxed.</p><p>"It's a mint Trexler Marauder!" he gasped, his eyes lighting up. "Do you know how much we could get for this on the black market?"</p><p>"It's going to get vaporized like the rest of this base," the Mandalorian dismissed. "Lets go."</p><p>The Mandalorian and Vena led the group further into the base. Cara started to blast cameras she noticed. Vena listened and used hand signals to direct them through the path with the least Troopers, leading them to the Command Center, at the Mandalorian's request. She stopped them in place as she heard the clicking of a console, and a voice asking for the shuttle bay's confirmation. </p><p>Vena pointed ahead at the doors. "We'd better hurry before someone realizes we're here."</p><p>Cara snuck forward. She wrapped an arm around the man's neck, resisting his struggle, until his body went limp and she laid him on the floor. Karga and Mythrol stripped him of his weaponry and tied his hands and feet together. </p><p>The Mandalorian spent mere seconds at the console before he discovered the Heat Shaft. They traveled down the corridor once more, loosely in formation, at Vena's lack of signaling. All eyes were on her as she led them beside the Mandalorian. </p><p>Vena raised her hand and signaled all of them flat against the wall as two Troopers started to approach their path. </p><p>"...we must have blown a transformer over there." </p><p>"Alright. We'll check it out."</p><p>"Section Four? TK-1-4-7."</p><p>"Scan control has been unreliable since last rotation..."</p><p>Vena peaked out from behind the door, watching the Troopers pass by. She ushered for them to hustle past the hall. </p><p>They arrived at the door to the Heat Shaft. Mythrol used a Code Cylinder to bypass two sets of doors, then they were all suddenly rushed with a wave of heat as the doors to the Shaft unveiled and revealed the opened tunnel. Vena peered over the edge of the platform, slightly worried by the lack of a railing, and saw bubbling lava at the bottom of the base. </p><p>"Get on the reactor controls," ordered Karga. "Drain the coolant lines."</p><p>Vena looked up when no one responded. She glanced over at Mythrol, who was just as shocked by the lack of railing as she was, as he looked down at the lava, too. She nudged him with her arm and tilted her head over at the reactor controls.</p><p>He frowned. "Me?"</p><p>"Yes, you!" snapped Karga. </p><p>"But I'm afraid of heights. And heat. And lava."</p><p>"How about if I put you back in carbonite? Get over there!"</p><p>Mythrol stepped carefully onto the platform leading to the controls. He took one step before he retreated entirely, muttering, "There's no guard rail on this," but one look over at Karga's angry face, and he quickly shuffled across to the controls. </p><p>Vena watched him attentively as he stammered and muttered and bumbled through draining the coolant lines. When an alarm hit their ears, red lights started to flash from the walls, and another quick rush of heat hit them, it was time to go. </p><p>Vena held her hand out and ushered Mythrol back to them. When his feet hit the platform, they broke into a run.</p><p>"How long?" asked Vena.</p><p>"Ten minutes!" panted Mythrol. </p><p>The Mandalorian skidded everyone to a stop, shoving them all to the wall as he spotted a dozen Troopers passing ahead of them. When they passed, he ushered them back the way they came, grabbing Vena's hand and pulling her to run beside him. </p><p>"Need your ears, Hal," he muttered. </p><p>"No matter what, we're going to run into some people," she said, after a moment of listening.</p><p>She chose to lead them through the first door they came to. She could hear two people behind it, slamming their fingers into buttons on a console, rushing and hurrying. She didn't want to condemn them to death, by choosing that path, but she knew they would fight and resist, instead of saving their own lives-- its what the Empire conditioned them to do. </p><p>Vena hit the panel to open the door and let the Mandalorian and Cara participate in the inevitable shootout. Seconds later, when the blaster fire was over, they entered the room, aiming to just pass through, but then Vena saw the bodies. </p><p>Her hands flew to her mouth. Several deformed, decaying bodies were displayed along the walls of the room. Their bodies were curled inwards, their eyes closed, their bodies floating in individual tubes of yellow liquid. An urge to help them tore through Vena's body and she forced her trembling hand away from her mouth and touched the tube nearest to her, pushing through the barrier, trying to feel if there was any sense of life or thought to them. She frantically touched each tube, hoping, beyond belief, her nose scrunching with the swelling of tears in her eyes as her hope was crushed with every tube. </p><p>The Mandalorian didn't let her reach the end. He grabbed her around her waist and pulled her back to him, whispering for her to stop, turning her body away from the bodies of the dead. She fell into him, her body shaking with grief and with a gathering rage, one question evident in her mind: who did this?</p><p>Cara stared at the bodies, frozen in shock. "Karga, I... I thought you said this was a forward operating base."</p><p>"I thought it was," he whispered, just as horrified. </p><p>"This isn't military, it's a lab."</p><p>"We have to find out what happened here," pushed Vena, wiggling herself from the Mandalorian's grasp to look at the bodies again. "We can't... We can't just leave them like this, we have to find out what happened."</p><p>"What about the reactor--" Mythrol started.</p><p>Vena snapped. "Now!"</p><p>Mythrol sprinted to the console behind them. His shaking hands flew across the panel. </p><p>"I don't like this," said the Mandalorian quietly. </p><p>"I'm sure they didn't either," muttered Vena honestly. </p><p>He suppressed his sigh. "Hal, you couldn't have helped them."</p><p>"It's not right. It's inhumane. They just left them here to die and to rot and--" She was silenced as another voice cut over her <em>own. </em></p><p><em>"..replicated the results of the subsequent trials..."</em> It was a scientist. He seemed awkward and unsure of himself as he spoke, his eyes behind his glasses aimed toward the floor, his hands crossed, formally, but nervously. He was reporting to someone. <em>"...which also resulted in catastrophic failure. There were promising effects for an entire fortnight, but then, sadly, the body rejected the blood. I highly doubt we'll find a donor with a higher M-count, though. I recommend that we suspend all experimentation. I fear that the volunteer will meet the same regrettable fate if we proceed with the transfusion. Unfortunately, we have exhausted our initial supply of blood. The Child is small, and I was only able to harvest a limited amount without killing him...”</em></p><p>Vena’s hand shot out to grab the Mandalorian, as his hand slapped to hers, too. The air left her lungs as she thought about the distance between them and the Child at that moment. Their premonitions were right: they should have never left the Child alone. </p><p>
  <em>“...if these experiments are to continue, we would again require access to the donor...”</em>
</p><p>"We have to--" started Vena.</p><p>
  <em>"...I will not disappoint you again, Moff Gideon."</em>
</p><p>The Mandalorian’s hand fell from her arm. He shook his head once, shortly. </p><p>"That has to be an old transmission," he denied immediately, turning to Mythrol. "Moff Gideon is dead."</p><p>Mythrol glanced up at them. "No. This recording is three days old."</p><p>"If Gideon is alive, then--"</p><p>Vena snapped out of her shock when she felt quick footsteps approaching their position. She threw her hand out and shoved Cara and Karga away from them, while the Mandalorian threw himself forward to cover them as she jumped over the console and ducked for cover with Mythrol. </p><p>They had no time for interference—they had to go. Vena grabbed the blaster from Mythrol’s hand and popped up quickly, taking two precise shots, dropping the Troopers bodies easily, before she handed the blaster back to his opened hands.</p><p>“The Kid,” said Vena quickly. </p><p>"Jet back, you're faster that way," encouraged Cara. </p><p>The Mandalorian started towards the door. Vena didn’t follow. He held his hand out to her urgently. </p><p>“No, you’re faster without me. Go,” she demanded.</p><p>He stomped back towards her but she lightly flexed her hand as it lay by her side, providing an invisible resistance against him. He grunted as he hit the barrier and stopped, but his hand still stretched toward her angrily.</p><p>”Absolutely not,” he snapped. “We don’t have time for this—“</p><p>”You’re right, so go,” she snapped back.</p><p>Hands gripped onto her back and shoved her body roughly forward. Her hand fell into the Mandalorian’s grasp and he started to tug her alongside him. Vena looked back angrily at Cara, who did nothing except shrug at her. </p><p>"We'll head to the speeder and meet you in town!" she promised.</p><p>“You better!” yelled Vena. </p><p>With the decision made for her, Vena had no other choice except to go with him. She led him through the path of least resistance. Any shots they took were accurate and deadly. There was no time to waste. </p><p>"We're gonna have to go from the core," said Vena, listening, shaking her head. She skidded to a stop and he ran into her, but she tugged him back behind coverage for a moment. "There's not many over there--"</p><p>He squeezed her hand. "It's okay. Lets go."</p><p>They arrived at the ledge of the Heat Shaft. Vena glanced over, feeling the warmth more prominently now, and noticed how high the lava had rose in the short span of time that passed.</p><p>Vena reached for him, to hold onto him tightly as their exit was above them, but she couldn’t follow through when she felt footsteps intruding on them once more. She pulled the Mandalorian towards her to avoid blaster shots at his armor, before he reacted and started to shoot back, grabbing her and twisting her body away from the attackers. Vena gripped her blaster to help, her aim poor due to him blocking her vision, but providing ample cover fire for him to make a move.</p><p>He had no time to ask if she was ready, nor hold her like he usually did. He grabbed her forearm tightly and shot them both up, she screamed, but by the time she started to panic, they were outside of the base, and her feet were on ground. He covered her as a Trooper shot at them, but she fired, and he was dealt with, like the other two Troopers at their feet.</p><p>The Mandalorian scooped her up with no comment. She quickly shoved her blaster back into its holster as he broke into a jog. His arms around her legs and her lower back, she grabbed him tightly, and sucked in a breath as he jumped from the cliff and took flight. Vena turned her head into the cloth around his neck, squeezing her eyes shut. She could’ve said it was from the wind, but she would have been lying. He would’ve known she was lying.</p><p>"They were trying to make more of us," she whispered to him, her voice shaky. "They took his blood and gave it to people to try to make more of us."</p><p>"Hala," he warned her softly.</p><p>"He's so powerful, you don't understand," she said. "More than me, so much more, it wouldn't even matter if I let them find me because he is so much more valuable."</p><p>“You’re not going to let them find you,” he snapped at her. “They’re not going to find you. I won't let it happen."</p><p>”If they have a will, they’ll find a way,” she whispered back hopelessly. “Something inside of me has always known this, known something terrible could happen to people like us. And they did it to a baby. <em>Our</em> Baby. Those poor people died, they—“</p><p>"Hala, stop," he told her firmly.</p><p>”I’ve been stupid, and you were right to be upset with me for being careless. I should’ve been hiding all this time—“</p><p>”—You are safe, Hal—“</p><p>"Did you know what they did to him?"</p><p>He sighed. “No,” he answered quickly. “I knew it was something, but I... I didn't...Something told me. The same way you knew, back on Sorgan. You knew it was to do with his power."</p><p>"You’re a hero, Din,” she told him. She wanted him to know and to understand the impact of his interference. “You saved him and you saved more people from being subjected to those experiments.” </p><p>He nodded. He said nothing in response to her. Hero was not a word he would ever think to describe himself. But she was in no state of mind to argue with, so he let her call him something he was not, and he just held her a little tighter. </p><p>He landed at the door to the school. Vena practically jumped from his arms and slammed her body against the door to the classroom. </p><p>Class was in session, and the children shrieked and screamed, but Vena caught sight of her little green boy and she threw herself across the room to grab him and run back to the safety of the Mandalorian's arms. </p><p>"My Baby," she whispered, pressing her lips to his wrinkly little head, leaning into the Mandalorian as he guided them back out, his blaster drawn as he tucked them both into his side. </p><p>The Child’s confusion filtered through Vena, but she calmed him, shaking her head and asking him to wait and to trust her. </p><p>They ran for the Crest. At the edge of the town, in all of its renewed and refurbished glory, it sat, with the ramp wide open, and the mechanics nowhere to be found.</p><p>”I never thought I’d be so happy to see this piece of junk,” Vena breathed as she ran up the ramp and climbed into the cockpit behind the Mandalorian. </p><p>She buckled herself and the Child in and the Mandalorian lifted off from the ground, stable and purring like a brand new ship.</p><p>The Mandalorian knew how to find their friends, by following the explosion in the distance, and the subsuing TIE Fighters in the sky. He immediately flew them into the heart of the chase, aiming to get the TIE Fighters off their friends’ tail— their gun in that Runner would do nothing.</p><p>Vena clasped the sides of her seat aggressively as the Mandalorian chased after the TIE’s and shot them into the sky, shooting and dodging, all while the Child screamed with excitement, his arms in the air, giggling profusely. She noticed the blue macaroon in his hand and reached for it, wanting to discourage him from eating while in combat mode, but when the Mandalorian decided to once again scare the soul out of her by shutting down the Crest and letting gravity encapsulate them, Vena did nothing except scream as her stomach dropped, too. </p><p>She inhaled a deep breath of air when her bottom slammed back down on the chair and her body was pushed against the back as the Mandalorian raced down towards the ground for the last TIE. </p><p>Then, they were spinning.</p><p>”Are you playing chicken right now?!” Vena screamed, her eyes slammed shut, her hands gripping the seat, but recognizing the motion of the Crest by nothing else except how sick she felt. </p><p>“Uh—“ </p><p>Vena reached across the seats to slap a hand over the Child, despite him being buckled in and clearly enjoying the ride. </p><p>“Just win, please,” Vena sighed.</p><p>When they fell back into nice, calm flying—after dodging the debris of the losing TIE Fighter—Vena let out a dramatic breath. She opened her eyes to a blue sky beyond the cockpit, and the Mandalorian’s helmet turned back at them. </p><p>"Not too bad, hey, kid?" he asked.</p><p>The Child threw up on the front of his cloak. </p><p>Both Vena and the Mandalorian moved to help the Child, but it was the Mandalorian who achieved aid, first, grabbing the end of his cape and dabbing at the Baby’s cloak. Vena watched them with a small smile. A faint little smile, looking at the Mandalorian not having a second thought about disregarding his own clothing to help their Baby. How far he’d come since she met him..,</p><p>"<em>That was some pretty impressive flying, Mando,</em>" Greef Karga's voice came through the console. "<em>What do I owe you?</em>"</p><p>The Mandalorian turned back to the console. "With the repairs, lets call it even.”</p><p>"<em>Can I at least buy you a drink?</em>"</p><p>"Sorry. We have some onboard maintenance we have to take care of. Then we have to hit the road before Gideon catches wise."</p><p>"<em>Good luck flying, my friend."</em></p><p>The Mandalorian took off towards the stars. </p><p>Vena unbuckled herself and put her hands through her montrals, breathing out all of the stress shed built up in her body over the last few minutes. They were alright. Her, the Mandalorian, and the Baby were okay and together.</p><p>But Moff Gideon was alive. After almost a year of thinking they were in the clear from the Imps, they were wrong. As of three days ago, the bounty on the Baby was still at large. The Empire‘s search, though it must have still been occurring, was about to get much worse with the samples they now needed to continue. And that couldn’t happen. </p><p>Vena bit her lip. She didn’t want to say it. She didn’t want to be the one to make the decision, or to even bring it up, but as they exited the atmosphere of Nevarro and entered the stars, she knew one of them had to say it. <br/><br/>“Din,” she whispered softly, her eyes sad as they laid on the back of his helmet. </p><p>He didn't have any need for clarification. "I know," he said quietly. </p><p>The Mandalorian punched them into hyperspace. To Corvus. To the Jedi, Ahsoka Tano. It was time to say goodbye. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. The Force</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Vena almost immediately excused herself once they were into hyperspace, and she didn't say much to the Mandalorian about her abrupt exit, but he didn't say anything, either. She needed a moment, or a few, away from him and the Child. The anxiety was still set in her shoulder blades, in her closed fists, and in her heavily beating heart; all symptoms from almost losing the Child.</p><p>She ducked into their bed and closed the door behind her, secluding herself in darkness, slamming her eyes shut, and forcing herself to take deep breaths. </p><p>She had just been selfish. There was no other way to put it. On Nevarro, she wanted more time with the Mandalorian and with the Child, so she hadn't minded them taking their leisure time and extending their deadline. They hadn't minded letting the Child be at school and spending time by themselves. They let loose, on their duty to protect him, and in their selfishness to extend their time together, it could have cost them the Kid.</p><p>But without doing so, they never would have known about those poor people the Empire subjected to the blood of the Child, and they would never have known Moff Gideon was alive, or that the remnants of the Empire were still desperate for the Child's blood. Their decision to help Cara and Karga brought them necessary knowledge, and although they were all together and they were safe for the time being, it only meant they had to work faster to get the Child to a Jedi for protection they could not give. </p><p>With every breath, Vena remembered that they were okay. Herself, the Child, and the Mandalorian survived and they were together. She had to remember that, if nothing else. Even if that statement would not be true for very much longer. </p><p>A teardrop hit Vena's hand and she briefly opened her eyes from her meditative state, before she shook her head and closed her eyes again, squeezing them shut, trying to ignore the water in her eyes and the sadness itching its way around her breaking heart. </p><p>It was time for goodbye, and she had no idea if or when she would see him again. Maker, did she want to. She prayed to. For the first time in years, after yearning to be alone and be free and by herself, Vena did not want that anymore. She wanted to remain around the Mandalorian, she kept realizing, the closer they came to having to separate. She could not stop denying her feelings for him, after being so incredibly attentive to how much he truly cared for her, too. He cared enough to hold her when he knew she was going to be empathetic to those dead bodies in the tank, to constantly protect her, to shield her, and to let her go. He cared and he was putting on a brave face to her and the Child, but she knew he didn't want to be alone anymore, either.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Not after the almost year they had spent together. </span></p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">Vena was slamming her hand against the wall before she knew what was going on. She stumbled from their bed space, scrambling out of the bed, clambering up the stairs, but when she heard the Mandalorian's voice, she slowed before she fully climbed up the ladder. </span>
</p><p>"Corvus," said the Mandalorian. He was talking to the Child, trying so hard to sound strong and excited for him, who was so attuned to his feelings and dependent on them to feel himself. "Well, uh, I'm gonna start the landing cycle, so you better get back in your seat. And before you start-- I know you can do it, even though you pretend you can't and make Hal lift you up."</p><p>Vena lifted her head over the ladder. Her eyes peaked over, just enough to see them, and she watched the Child as he sat on the dashboard, his eyes fixated on the knob, and the Mandalorian's eyes fixated on the Child. </p><p>"Hey," the Mandalorian warned, his words stern, but his tone loose. "Back in your seat, Kid."</p><p>The Child sensed Vena. His head turned as he noticed her and he cried out to her, panicked when he felt her sadness, but more so when he saw her puffy eyes and her quivering lip. He pointed and the Mandalorian turned, too. He relaxed when he saw her climbing up the ladder, but he looked back again when he saw the same emotions plastered on her face that the Child had. He rushed to her, rushed to touch her, one of his hands on her face and the other clasping her shoulder. </p><p>"Hal," he whispered, as her hands fell on his chest plate. "Hal, are you okay?"</p><p>Vena fell into him. Her arms stretched from his chest to his neck, she pulled him into her, and with her head against his chest, she stopped crying with him in her arms. She just held him and held him close. Though she couldn't truly feel anything but the heat of his hands on her back as he held her. She thought about mere days ago, when she had felt him closer, through his clothes, and wished they were there again, basking in his admiration for her and their relationship. </p><p>She didn't know how long they stayed holding each other until he whispered her name again. </p><p>"I won't be able to thank you for all that you've done for me," she whispered to him.</p><p>The Mandalorian sighed. "I thought you said no more, Hal."</p><p>Vena understood his brief annoyance. She had--he was right. She said no more goodbyes, she wanted them to just enjoy their time together while it was there. But the closer they got to Corvus, and to the end...</p><p>"Alright, well, I lied, then," she muttered. "I need you to know--"</p><p>"I do know, Hala," he interrupted her, resting his chin on her head, bringing her closer. "I might not be able to feel it as much as you, but I know. And you don't have to thank me." </p><p>Vena pulled back from holding him to look into his dark visor, searching for the eyes she would never see. "Promise me you'll find me again."</p><p>He paused. "What?" he asked softly. </p><p>"If this is really where we say goodbye, then promise me you'll find me again," she whispered to him. "I'm not ready to let you leave my life entirely."</p><p>The Mandalorian brought his hand to her face. She could swear he was smiling through his helmet. "I think you would have a better chance at finding me, Hal."</p><p>"Then let me find you," she decided. She smiled, too, thinking about the possibility of him reverting to his Bounty Hunter ways just to avoid her. As if he ever would. She would always find him, she supposed, based on his distinct feel to her in the energy of the universe. His glow and his light, his admiration for her, all wrapped and swirling in colors and fleeting emotions that Vena would be able to find, if she searched hard enough. She sighed and fell into him again, holding him tightly.  "Just tell me we'll see each other again."</p><p>"We will, Hala," he promised. His chin hit the top of her head. A kiss, it probably would have been, if he didn't have his helmet. He rubbed her back. "Now back in your seat, alright? I'm landing soon." </p><p>•</p><p>Corvus. A forest planet, or, rather, the remains of one. Where there were once forests and greenery, there were now struggling trees and stretches of land, both the decaying trees and the dirt coloring the landscape a dull, dark brown. Fog swept through the areas. Creaks and crackles of insects and massive, towering creatures flooded their ears the moment they stepped from the ramp and into the remaining forestry. </p><p>Vena's eyes were stuck on the outline of the creatures in the distance, as they consumed the tall branches of the trees. They were distinct shapes in the distance, with short and stubbed legs, fat bellies, and no length between their bellies and heads. She could feel their heavy feet as they adjusted closer to branches. Because of their size, she was certain she would hear them before they could attack, if they were carnivorous. But based on the looks of them, and the gentle, unbothered feeling surrounding them, it seemed they were safe. </p><p>The Mandalorian seemed to be on the same train of thought Vena was: "Gentle giants, I'm sure," he muttered, nodding his head in their direction. His head turned back to Vena and the Child, ensuring they were behind him, before he started away from the ship. He looked back again as he noticed the reflection of a shiny object in the Child's hand. </p><p>"What did I say about that?" he asked sternly. He bent down and wiggled the topper of the control lever from the Child's unwilling hand. He slipped it into his pocket, shaking his head at the pouting lips from the Child. "This needs to stay with the ship."</p><p>The Child reached for Vena's pant leg, gripping the tight fabric and shaking her. She looked down at his pouting lips and shrugged. </p><p>"Sorry, my dear. You have to listen to him, too," she encouraged. </p><p>He ripped his hand away from her and frowned. He stepped carefully down the ramp, aiming to walk by his lonesome, but the Mandalorian sighed and scooped him up into his arms, shaking his head at the growingly eccentric personality of the Child. </p><p>"You know, I think he learns the dramatics from you," the Mandalorian grumbled to Vena as they started to walk into the treeline, side by side. "He never use to act like this when it was just us."</p><p>"Oh, for the whole two weeks you were without me? Please," she teased back. </p><p>The Mandalorian huffed. "Pretty sure it was more than two weeks."</p><p>They walked through the trees. Their eyes and their ears--or, montral--were on alert. They had flown over a town on the landing cycle, Vena remembered, and she guessed that was where the Mandalorian wanted to take them. People would talk about a Jedi, she guessed, and if they didn't share the information, they would for payment, she was sure. Especially on a run-down, ghost planet. Not only would payment suffice, or even a small favor, but a Jedi would not pass through simply on such a planet. It made Vena wonder why Ahsoka Tano was on Corvus in the first place. It was not a place to lay low, by any means. </p><p>As the name passed through her mind, Vena couldn't help the words that tumbled out of her mouth: "I feel her."</p><p>The Mandalorian stopped. He looked around, panicked, his hand flying for his blaster. "What? Where?"</p><p>Vena put a hand on his arm, settling his anticipation. She shook her head. "No, not immediately. I just..." She stopped, trying to explain to him in terms he would understand. She briefly looked at the Child, as if he could help her explain, but it wasn't something simple. She only felt an energy force. A strong one. Somewhere on the planet, not in close proximity to them, but a strong enough force was projecting to Vena's open mind. Whether or not that was intentional, they would have to wait to find out. </p><p>"Not sure," Vena decided to say. She continued to walk. "It's best we head into town, anyway."</p><p>With more thought, Vena was sure she could have tried to find Ahsoka based on her signature alone. But the Mandalorian didn't ask her to, and she didn't mention wanting to, and they both left her surprised statement in the air. Maybe they stayed silent for the same reason: to stall. </p><p>Vena kept herself on high alert as they walked, but mostly, she just found herself watching the Mandalorian lead the way. His rifle along his back, the Child in the crook of his right arm. The way he sauntered, because he barely ever just walked. The turn of his head every few minutes to look behind him enough to see her in the corner of his eye. He'd become so aware of her and her proximity to him, over time. He'd changed a lot over the time they'd spent together. </p><p>But not enough to drop the Creed... Vena thought, then, immediately, cursed herself for thinking it. She could not oversell her importance in his life, nor discredit his Creed, which had brought him comfort and solace for a much, much longer time than she had been in his life. She had been selfish enough, she painfully remembered, and it had almost cost them the Child. Enough, she told herself, trying to find comfort in the idea that she and the Mandalorian had pushed their fraction of a relationship as far as it would go. It was over. </p><p>And yet, Vena still gave into her urge to touch him and she skipped forward quickly, sliding her hand into his own as it swung by his side. She neglected to look over at him as he looked down at her, an amused, prolonged glance as he waited for her to say something. She did not. She hid her blushing face away from his watchful eyes by pretending to look at the treetops over their heads. He pretended like he couldn't tell she was blushing. </p><p>"Yes?" he asked her. </p><p>"What? Nothing," she promised. </p><p>He nodded. "Are you scared of those creatures?" he asked her, nodding over to the tree-eating shape in the distance. </p><p>Vena nodded, a small smile stretching across her face. He saw right through her, but pretended to not notice. She nodded once more and leaned into him a bit further. "Yep," she whispered. "Terrified."</p><p>As the distance between them and the town closed, Vena allowed space between her and the Mandalorian. She walked beside him, as equals, and she pulled her hood over her head to somewhat cover her montrals. Again, she wondered, if Ahsoka often did the same. Not only was a Jedi uncommon anymore, but so were Togrutas away from their people. For once, she hoped the town would mistake her for a Twi'lek. </p><p>The Mandalorian noticed Vena ready herself for interaction. He hadn't picked up the town on his scopes, quite yet, but with her signals, he settled the Child into a bag resting on his hip. He tucked the Child into his side, away from a frontal view, and Vena positioned herself on the same side to protect the Child, too. </p><p>Vena pushed through the fortified walls as they came into view. As everything else on the planet, the town was scarce, too. Quiet. Footsteps were slow and dragging. The people were in despair and in fear, which caused Vena to let out a soft grunt and immediately retreat back to the wall, closing herself off from being overwhelmed by the townspeople's thoughts and emotions. </p><p>The Mandalorian glanced over at her worriedly. </p><p>She shook her head. "I think I know why Ahsoka is here," she muttered, irritated. </p><p>He didn't respond to her quite then. They were both a bit busy, with the Mandalorian using his helmet to scan for information along the top of the wall, where three figures were stationed, and Vena trying to carefully listen and feel for what was beyond the wall. It seemed they both heard the distinct sound of blasters being charged up, and it brought their attention to the top of the gate in front of them, where a man in dark armor, and two others covered from head-to-toe in armor stepped forward. The man at the forefront was free of a helmet and free of a breathing apparatus, of which the same could not be said about the other two. </p><p>"State your business," he called down. </p><p>The Mandalorian spoke for them: "Been tracking for a few days. Looking for a layover."</p><p>"Mhm," he hummed. "You there. Take off the hood."</p><p>Vena barely registered the man’s request before the Mandalorian responded for her: "Doesn't pertain to our business, does it?" He asked flatly. </p><p>"It does now."</p><p>Vena's eyes remained forward. She watched the Mandalorian, from the side of her eye, continue to stand and stare—both of them unwilling to concede to the man’s directions. </p><p>Then, blasters raised to her position and the Mandalorian moved in front of her, and she grabbed his hand, ready to refuse him. Vena kept him out of her way as she lifted her eyes to make eye contact with the man at the forefront of the gate.</p><p>"You don't need me to take off my hood." </p><p>"I dont need you to take off your hood." </p><p>"You will resume your business."</p><p>"I will resume my business," he repeated flatly. He cleared his throat. "You hunters, then?" </p><p>The Mandalorian was as nonchalant possible as he relaxed. Vena noticed the side glance he sent her, wondering what exactly just occurred, but he played it safe and pretended as if nothing had happened.</p><p>”We are,” said Vena, covering for the Mandalorian while he composed himself from the mess of thoughts rampaging in his head. </p><p>"Guild?"</p><p>The Mandalorian nodded. "Last I checked."</p><p>A brief pause in their conversation occurred as a Scout Guard stepped closer to the man at the forefront and whispered to him. Moments later, the gate opened, and as the Mandalorian and Vena stepped through it, their conversation with the man above ceased, though his watchful eyes did not leave them.</p><p>In the brief moments they walked under the gate, away from watchful eyes and listening ears, the Mandalorian asked: “You gonna tell me what that was?”</p><p>“Well, you knew I was good at conflict management sometimes,” she muttered softly. “Call it, uhhh, a Jedi trick, I suppose. Mind trick.”</p><p>He grumbled at her. “Bold, Vena."</p><p>She nodded. “Sorry.”</p><p>“I don’t know why he asked you to remove your hood,” he muttered quickly.</p><p>Vena said nothing to him. They had passed underneath the gate, then, and were past the short stretch of land where they could speak and move freely. Now on the streets of the town, they had to be mindful of their movements.</p><p>Though she could say nothing to the Mandalorian, she probably could guess as to why the guard had been suspicious. Montrals, no matter how they were covered, still presented an odd shape under fabric. A recognizable one. And if her suspicion was correct, it seemed their Jedi was known in the town already. </p><p>Smoke filled the air. Vendors, though only a limited few, lined the streets. It was quiet, eerily so, as they walked moderately down the street and observed the chilling atmosphere. All of the sound was noises. Shoes scuffling, dirt crackling under their feet, sizzling of food against a hot grill. There were no speaking voices registering to Vena, even as she tried to extend her montral out and listen to the rest of the small town.</p><p>Vena turned her head as her montral found the unmistakable sound of a rumbling stomach. Two rumbling stomachs, she realized, when she turned and saw two children standing in front of a crouching older man.</p><p>Her hand nudged to the Mandalorian’s waist to grab his attention and then she squeezed his arm, asking him softly to stay there. When he nodded and continued forward, Vena stepped down the alleyway towards the small group. She purposely dug her feet harder into the dirt, hoping the soft crunches under her boots would alert them to her approach. </p><p>It did. The children saw her first and froze, causing the man to turn his head. He saw enough of a figure approaching them and he rose quickly to cover the children from Vena’s view. In her quick movement to raise her hand and freeze in place, to show him she was of no harm, the children scurried away.</p><p>”Hi there,” she said. She opened her palms for him to see before lowering them back to her side. “I—"</p><p>"Please do not speak to them," said the man, rising, and Vena did quickly, too, as he stepped in front of the retreating children to cover them from her view.</p><p>Vena lowered her hands. "I don't--"</p><p>"Don't speak to any of us--" He stopped, filling with fear, and Vena felt the robotic footsteps against the dirt. Two Scout Guards approached. By the time she turned back to the man, he was scurrying away, waving his hands at the children at the end of the alleyway to rush them away, too.</p><p>"The Magistrate will see you now."</p><p>Vena frowned. She sighed and turned, falling in step beside the Mandalorian. While one Scout Guard led them through the town, the other walked behind them. Their blasters were evident in their hands, and ready to use, even though Vena and the Mandalorian had no intention to not comply. For the time being, at least. </p><p>The Temple was pristine. So much so more than the town around it that Vena couldn't help the look of disgust that passed over her face. She felt the hum of a security system securing the gate to the Temple and surveyed it briefly, before her eyes passed across and registered prisoners strung along the walkway to the Temple Gate. She kept her face still. Or, she tried so desperately to, as the prisoners, tied to the post, plead and cried in broken, pained whispers to help them.</p><p>Vena had to blocked their emotions from reaching her immediately after she started to feel them. Knowing how easily feeling other people's sorrow and pain could move her to tears, she lowered her head to avoid them from her view. She couldn't allow herself to feel the depth of their negative emotions when they were about to meet the Magistrate. But she remembered them, as she remembered those who passed in the tanks at the Empire base, and she promised--knowing the Mandalorian would help her--to save them, as soon as they could. She turned slightly when she felt the Mandalorian falter, too, his anger reaching to her. He'd seen enough of the town, too.</p><p>The Scout Guards stopped at the gate and stood on either side of it. As the first gate opened, the Mandalorian and Vena stepped through. Before they were fully in, the gate started to close behind them. In the short moments between the first gate closing and the second one starting to open, Vena stepped closer to the Mandalorian. She had to reach to feel him, in the dim light between the gates enclosing them in the small space, but she reached for his arm and he reached for her, too. His touch was less urgent than hers. Comforting. </p><p>"Are you okay?" he asked her softly. </p><p>She faltered. "W-what?"</p><p>"Those prisoners. I know you felt their pain, Hal, are you--"</p><p>"Yes," she interrupted quickly. Their time was short. "Yes, Din, I'm alright," she whispered. "Ahsoka isn’t here. She’s not in the town.”</p><p>“I assumed so, too,” he agreed. “Do you think they know about her? Have seen her, maybe?”</p><p>”Have to,” said Vena quickly, rushing through her words as the secondary gate started to open. She distanced herself from him. “The cloak ordeal at the gate,” she spit out quickly, then brought herself to composure by the time the gates opened and showed them. He would have to figure out her words.</p><p>A zen garden was laid before their eyes. One strip of walkway led further into the Temple, and it was cushioned by ponds on each side. Dimmed lights laid along the pathway. It was beautiful, Vena thought objectively, but knowing how pristine and intact the Temple was compared to the lives of the townspeople ruined any beauty attached to the garden.</p><p>Judgement was passed immediately onto the woman who entered Vena’s vision. She, too, was dressed exquisitely and formal, living up to the title of Magistrate. She was sprinkling a handful of food into the water on the sides of the walkway while Vena and the Mandalorian exited the gates.</p><p>"It appears to be a good omen that our paths have now crossed, Mandalorian. You may have caught me my prize before I could even ask you," stated the Magistrate boldly. She glanced over. "You are Mandalorian, hm? No wonder you decided to catch a Jedi for yourself. It just so happens I am after this one, too."</p><p>Vena and the Mandalorian stayed silent. Not only unwilling to respond, but desperately confused. At least the Mandalorian was. He could not fathom why or how the Magistrate wanted Vena, but Vena’s few suspicions were confirmed: Ahsoka had been to the town and encountered the Magistrate, and, she was a Togruta.</p><p>The Magistrate didn’t seem bothered by their lack of response. "I assume your price is high?"</p><p>"Not for sale,” said the Mandalorian.</p><p>The Magistrate faced them. She held out her hand, prompting the Guard Droid behind her to step forward and place a silver spear into her opened palm.</p><p>Vena’s heart pounded. She watched the spear carefully, watched the woman carefully, and tried to control the urges she often felt when adreline rushed through her. If the woman was going to test her truth of the moment, or incite combat against her, Vena wasn’t sure what she should do. She didn’t know what the best move was at all— she didn’t want the Magistrate to know she was a Jedi, too, and then have a death sentence on her head; she didn’t know when to admit she wasn’t Ahsoka, if it would help or hinder the situation. She didn’t know how the Mandalorian would react except protecting her.</p><p>So she stayed alert, while maintaining a calm and reserved exterior, and waited for the time ahead to play out, hoping that the best path for her to set them on would show itself in short time. </p><p>"What do you make of this?" asked the Magistrate, extending it to the Mandalorian.</p><p>He stepped forward, enough to grab the spear from her. Vena felt his subtle shock as he recognized the makeup of the spear. He swung the spear around his wrist, gauging its weight and flexibility, before he hit it against the plate on his forearm, inciting a sharp clank as they collided. </p><p>"Pure Beskar," the Magistrate confirmed. "Like your armor. Kill the Jedi and its yours." </p><p>The Mandalorian was the one to break, first. After how hard he had molded Vena’s reactions and composure in situations, he heard the request from the Magistrate, and showed his hand immediately by the quick, mortified snap of his head to her. He set the spear back into her hand and shook his head.</p><p>”No,” he told her, and he walked briskly back to Vena’s side, aiming to turn her and walk them back towards the gate.</p><p>But, as usual, the sound of blasters stopped them from doing so. The Mandalorian still stood in front of her, protectively, his hip with the Child swinging from it tucked between he and Vena. His helmet turned to the Magisteate’s Guards, assessing the most effective way to secure their escape. He would have to give Vena the Child while fending off their blaster fire—</p><p>“A Mandalorian and a Jedi?” asked the Magistrate incredulously. Her eyes lingered on the Mandalorian’s hand resting on Vena’s waist. “If you were so inclined to her, where were you last night? In the shadows, as she tore through my guards? Waiting to make your appearance in town? For what?”</p><p>It was Vena’s turn to protect him from scrutiny. She twisted her hips away from his protection and put herself into the Magistrate’s eyesight, shaking her hood from her montrals. The Magistrate squinted suspiciously at her. She raised her hand, ready to give a signal, but Vena interrupted her.</p><p>"Stop this. The Jedi you are looking for is not me. I am no Jedi," said Vena truthfully. "Nor have I ever been to Corvus, and you don't know me."</p><p>"What is the coincidence of two Togruta on one planet?" hummed the Magistrate. "How do I know you aren't in contact with the Jedi?"</p><p>"Because I want to find her, too," admitted Vena. "If I had, I wouldn't be here."</p><p>"What reason do I have to believe you?" </p><p>"We can prove it to you," interrupted the Mandalorian. "Where can we find her?"</p><p>They were all silent. The Magistrate weighed her decision to let them slip from her grasp, or to have them retrieve the Jedi, if they were indeed different people. Vena and the Mandalorian hoped to leave unharmed, and more importantly, without a fight. They were playing their cards as carefully as possible. All three of them were. </p><p>The Magistrate lowered her hand. "Lang!" she called, instead. </p><p>The Guard from the front gate came through the gate behind them. "Magistrate?"</p><p>"Escort them out," said the Magistrate. She glanced between the Mandalorian and Vena, her brow raised. "You have forty-eight hours." </p><p>They needed no other warning. The two nodded, refraining from any more conversation, and turned their backs to the Magistrate. They stayed close together as the Guard, Lang, led them to the front gate. As they walked down the path once more, having to pass the tortured prisoners, Vena slid her hands into her cloak to hide them. She kept her head forward, but under her cloak, she grabbed ahold of the energy box in charge of the electroshock system and crushed it. Her eyes fell to that of one of the prisoners and she shook her head slightly and barely, before she returned her eyes forward. </p><p>At the gate, Lang stopped, waiting for it to slide open. He looked over at Vena, his eyes clearly and alarmingly closely inspecting her montrals. She kept her eyes forward, suppressing the annoyed sigh. Moments before she was ready to say something to him, his eyes lowered to the Child, who was still sitting in the bag on the Mandalorian's hip. Lang's nose scrunched. </p><p>"What is that thing?" he asked, somewhat intrigued. </p><p>The Mandalorian didn't bother to look down at the Child. "I keep it around for luck."</p><p>Lang stared at the Mandalorian. "You're going to need it where you're headed."</p><p>"See you in twenty-four hours," muttered Vena. </p><p>The Mandalorian sighed and nudged Vena along, his hand on her back. They walked back into the forest fog of Corvus together. He waited for Vena to signal to him they were out of sight and out of reach, far enough into the trees where they could relax from scrutiny and rethink their ultimate plan. The Mandalorian set the Child on the ground, allowing him to walk beside them, when he saw Vena's signal, too, and started to fuss about being confined in the bag. </p><p>"Brat," giggled Vena. </p><p>The Child squinted his eyes up at her.</p><p>"'I'm no Jedi,'" he repeated, scoffing. </p><p>Vena smiled. "Good line, no?"</p><p>"Alright," he said, ignoring the chance to praise her. She hit his shoulder, rolling her eyes. "But we know she attacked last night. Probably knew about the prisoners, or the state of the town. If they gave us twenty-four hours to find her, chances are she's planning on saving the town soon."</p><p>"Very Jedi thing to do," said Vena. </p><p>"Suppose that's why you're inclined to help," he said.</p><p>Vena shook her head. "You are, too, and you're not a Jedi."</p><p>He huffed. Vena sensed his quick fleet of embarrassment, resentment, and looked over at him. He raised his hand, knowing he was too slow in masking his emotion to her. "Don't," he muttered. </p><p>"Don't I?" Vena asked. Her hand shot out to him to stop him from walking away from her. "What?" </p><p>"I don't want to be compared to a Jedi," he muttered. "That's all."</p><p>"Is that so bad?" challenged Vena. "For whatever reasons Mandalorian and Jedi fought, you said yourself we aren't enemies--"</p><p>"You and I," he interrupted. "You and I are not enemies. That doesn't mean I don't hold..."</p><p>Vena waited for him to continue, but he didn't. He didn't want to continue. She thought briefly that maybe she should have left it alone, feeling regret from him and her own regret for pushing him. She barely wanted to know what he wanted to say anymore. </p><p>"Nevermind, Hala. Let it go," he muttered, turning his back to her. </p><p>"If you hate the Jedi so much, why are you having such a hard time letting the Kid and I go?" she challenged him. "Why are you giving him up to a Jedi?"</p><p>The Mandalorian shook his head, though he kept his back to her still. "Hala, I said--"</p><p>"I know you don't hate us and I know you're only doing this because it's your duty, but its my duty to defend the Jedi, and--" she started. </p><p>"Defend them?" he snapped, turning. "You don't even know them! You didn't even know you were one! You're trying so hard to find your place in the lineage and with the Jedi, but you don't know. And I'm not the only one who is having a hard time leaving, so don't even start that, Vena. You've spent the last month convincing yourself you want to be a Jedi and you don't want to stay with me--"</p><p>"Oh, that's rich, making it all about you!"</p><p>"Maybe I want you to figure out what you want and stop stringing me along!"</p><p>"I do know what I--"</p><p>"No, because if you did, you wouldn't have a hard time leaving me," he snapped at her. "The truth is, we both don't know, Hala. We both don't know what we want. Every single time we've been alone and talked, that's been clear. I tell you how I feel, you disagree. You start crying because you're upset, but you say you don't want anything--"</p><p>"You know that I do, but I can't--"</p><p>"If you wanted to, you would've!"</p><p>"I could say the same about you!"</p><p>"I have tried!"</p><p>"Fine!" she yelled. She waited, her chest heavy and her eyes welling, for him to interrupt her again, but he didn't. So, she continued. "Fine, then you're right, Din, I do know what I want and it's to be away from whatever this is, because clearly, it's not--" Vena yelped and shoved her foot into his stomach, pushing him back and away from the incoming vibration she felt through her montral. </p><p>It was her--Ahsoka Tano. But she was blocked by swiftly moving white lines in the air, extending from her hands, and she ignored Vena completely. She went straight for the Mandalorian and whipped her weapons at him, as he struggled to block, she kept hitting him, until he ignited his flame thrower and she jumped away, leaving her grey cloak behind and burning on the forest floor. Vena shoved her hands forward and sent Ahsoka stumbling back, a little, not enough to knock her off balance, but enough to show her hand, and they yelled together, "Ahsoka Tano!" which cause all of them to freeze, the Mandalorian's blaster out, Vena's hands out, and Ahsoka's weapons out, too. Their eyes moved quickly between each other. </p><p>"Bo-Katan sent us," the Mandalorian panted. </p><p>"We need to talk," supplemented Vena. </p><p>Her eyes flickered behind Vena, at the Child. She drew the light back into weapons, relaxing, and allowing the other two to settle as well. Ahsoka's brow was raised, intrigued. "I hope it's about him." </p><p>"It is," nodded Vena, sighing the intensity out of her shoulders. "Ahsoka Tano, this is the Mandalorian. I'm Vena. And that is the Child." </p><p>•</p><p>Ahsoka said nothing about Vena’s power for a long time. She didn't say much, really. She asked to speak to the Child alone, and Vena and the Mandalorian doted about how he doesn’t truly speak quite yet, but she ignored them and guided them to her camp. She picked him up from the ground, then held her hand to stop Vena and the Mandalorian from following her. They watched as Ahsoka set him on a tree stump in front of her, she sat herself, and she lit a lamp between them to illuminate them in the darkness.</p><p>Vena turned away from them. She sighed, trying hard to bury her anxiety from Ahsoka. She didn’t want to feel anxious, on the contrary, she thought she would’ve felt comforted to see and be in the presence of the Jedi, but she was not. She attributed it to Ahsoka speaking to the Child first. Patience, she told herself, and then answers would be given to her, in time. </p><p>Vena turned her back on Ahsoka and the Child. She slid herself down a tree and tucked in her knees to her chest, her hands hanging over her kneecaps and locking together. She tried not to notice the Mandalorian join her in her distance away from them, though he didn’t sit beside her. He paced. And he barely even bothered to hide his anxiety from her. <br/><br/>Though she tried to close her eyes, his anxiety made her unable to focus on calming her own. He was almost more anxious than she was, for whatever reason.</p><p>She sighed. That was mean, she thought. She knew why he was nervous; he was giving up his two companions in the span of one day, and to a stranger. A Jedi. He was starting to understand that when he left Corvus, he would be alone again, and it didn't take Vena understanding his feelings, or him, to know that he wasn't so sure about being alone anymore.</p><p>She guessed that was part of the reason he lashed out a bit, though, fairly, he was right to some degree. She had spent time after time refusing his advances, not wanting them to be in more pain when goodbye was said, but as goodbye was in progress, she had found herself responding to him more. She wanted to touch him, comfort him, and herself, and she shouldn't have. She should have kept it together. But, just like he was, she had grown scared of being alone, after the little peace of familial bonding they’d experienced together.</p><p>“Alright,” said Vena quietly. The Mandalorian turned immediately. She brought her eyes up to his visor. “I’m sorry.” </p><p>He turned his head away from her. He stopped pacing, but his helmet turned back to Ahsoka and the Child. “Me too,” he said softly. "What do you think they're talking about?"</p><p>"Well, he doesn't talk, Din.”</p><p>He snapped his helmet to her and she knew he was giving her an angry look, so she sighed. </p><p>“I don’t know. I’m not listening. I don’t plan to, either, before you ask,” she told him.</p><p>”Then how does she feel?” he asked. </p><p>“Normal,” admitted Vena. “Curious. Defensive, really." </p><p>The Mandalorian was quiet. He watched Ahsoka and the Child, in his eyes, just stare at each other. They weren’t truly talking, the same way Vena and the Child often did not verbally speak, but mentally understood each other. He watched their heads turn, sometimes, tilt, respond physically to each other, without their mouths moving.</p><p>The Mandalorian glanced at Vena. “You were able to feel her this whole time, weren't you?"</p><p>She nodded, holding no regard for lying to him. "I knew we would find her eventually. Or she would find us. But I..."</p><p>"Just wanted to waste some time,” he filled in for her. When she said nothing, he looked over at her. She was watching him with her eyes softened, her lips in a sheepish and patient, small smile. He nodded his head knowingly. </p><p>Vena turned her head as she felt a push extend to her. She looked over at Ahsoka, who nodded her head over to her and the Child. Vena pushed herself up from the ground, drawing the Mandalorian’s helmet to her.</p><p>"She called me,” said Vena.</p><p>"She didn't say--Oh."</p><p>Vena smiled softly. As she passed him, she rested a hand on his arm, before leaving him behind to join Ahsoka and the Child. She sat on her knees across from the lamp, nodding politely to both of them for a nervous greeting. </p><p>"Hala Havena, and not Vena, hm?" asked Ahsoka. </p><p>Vena immediately looked over at the Child, her brow together. "Snitch.”</p><p>Ahsoka chuckled. “He talked a lot about you and the Mandalorian...” she admitted, and Vena shrugged knowingly. "Mostly, he wanted me to tell you that you are not a Jedi.”</p><p>Vena’s head snapped to Ahsoka. Her face flushed with warmth, embarrassment, and she looked at the Child worriedly, to which he shook his head, pushing calmness and support across their short distance. </p><p>“The Jedi are not exactly a people that you belong to,” continued Ahsoka. “It’s a title, an earned one. To be a Jedi takes... Well, I wouldn't be sure anymore. But, the point is, he wanted to correct you. The power you have inside of you is the Force."</p><p>Vena’s head tilted. "'The Force'?" she repeated quietly.</p><p>Ahsoka nodded. "You are Force-Sensitive," she agreed. "He mentioned you grew up on Kiros, is that right?" When Vena nodded, she hummed, shaking her head. "I am not sure why you weren't brought to the Temple, then."</p><p>The Baby cooed. </p><p>"Right," Ahsoka mumbled. "The Temple," she continued to explain to Vena, who was confused. "When I was a young girl, before the Empire, Jedi gathered on Corusant at the Jedi Temple. They sensed Force-Sensitive beings and gathered them from at a young age to become Jedi, learn the Jedi way. I do wonder why you didn't join us at the Temple. If I could sense the power in you, I have to wonder why no one came to take you, but..."</p><p>"I am younger than you," offered Vena, trying to make sense of it, as well. “I don't know. The Child was the first Jedi--er, uh, Force-sensitive I've ever met. I've never met a Jedi. But I'd heard, once, about them, when my planet was--"</p><p>Ahsoka’s head snapped to Vena, causing her to be silenced, and Ahsoka’s horrified realization to stumble from her mouth: “You were taken by the Zygerrian slavers, weren't you?" She understood, then, when Vena nodded, and rambled through her next words: "I was there. Myself, the 501st, Ana--" she stopped. "Uh...Um, we tried to save as many Togruta’s as we could to return them home, but... What happened to you?"</p><p>Vena shook her head, thinking back, trying to remember. "I... I remember hearing rumors among the children. The other children who were captured. Uh, Jedi at the slave trade, Jedi will save us," muttered Vena, mocking the voices of the hopeful children. She ran her fingers through the dirt under her legs. She shrugged. "I'm sure you did save a lot of our people."</p><p>“Just not you,” confirmed Ahsoka, regretfully. “Hala, I am sorry.”</p><p>“For what?” she asked, shrugging. “You did what you could. It's in the past. I survived, didn’t I?"</p><p>Ahsoka nodded, though she was unconvinced by Vena’s nonchalant attitude about their former almost-encounter years ago. “You have hid well, Hala.”</p><p>”Instinct, honestly,” admitted Vena. "Ever since I was a kid."</p><p>Ahsoka’s brow came together. “Something happened to you,” she mumbled, interested. She held her hand out to Vena, who raised an eyebrow, staring at the woman’s outstretched hand. “Would you like to find out?"</p><p>Vena didn’t truly think about it. She trusted Ahsoka, based on little else except the fact that they belonged to the same people, and because she was a Jedi. She reached across the distance and slipped her hand into Ahsoka’s. Together, they shared the same breath, the same breathing pattern, closing their eyes together, and the more they synced together, the clearer the picture behind their eyes became. </p><p>Vena was a child again. Through her own eyes, she saw the Battle Droid army approaching her, she saw her home planet, her family hiding in their home, peaking through the opened windows of their hut. She had spotted the Battle Droids and tripped over herself trying to run home to tell her family. She saw her father, clear as day, all over again, reforming himself into her memory. He was tall. His grey montrals were high into the sky, his lekku were thick and down to his waist, almost. His mouth was moving, screaming at her, his arms open wide for her.</p><p>She didn’t reach him, though. Blaster shots fired at her feet and she tumbled over. She tried to push herself up to keep running, but a Droid gripped her arm, yanking her up. She struggled and fought, hitting her fist against the metal of the skinny, tan droid, repeatedly, until one of her blows sent it flying across the grass. Vena didn’t think twice about it. She landed on her feet and continued running into the arms of her father.  </p><p>She used the Force, she can now realize, and then she saw the face of her father, panicked, screaming at her. Only this time, he was not scared for her, he was terrified for her. She could feel his heavy hands on her shoulders, shaking her, screaming and asking her why she would do that. Don’t ever do that again.</p><p>And then he pushed her behind him and he fought. The few other Battle Droids who had found their hut had seen Vena’s reaction, and her father destroyed them, hopefully, preventing news of her power to spread through the Separatist army. Her father tore through them with a rage Vena had never seen—protective, instinctual, trying to save his child from being found out. But he was subdued. He was shot, he was taken, dragged away, with Vena running after him and his blood trail, trying to reach him, and then, it was over.<br/><br/>Vena’s hand fell from Ahsoka’s grip and slammed against the floor, bursting a flush of energy that rocked all of them as she gasped for air. Tears were draining from her eyes and she slapped her hand to her face, wiping her tears away, gasping for breath to calm the sobs threatening to shake her body. <br/><br/></p><p>“What are you doing?!” snapped the Mandalorian, and then he was on his knees beside Vena, his arms around her and holding her to his body. “What did you do?!”</p><p>Vena heaved in air to speak. “It’s my fault,” she gasped. “It’s all my fault. I'm the one who tore apart the family, I, I--" the Mandalorian gathered her in his arms, hugging her from behind, holding her, shushing her. </p><p>Vena felt an unimaginable sorrow in her heart. She didn’t know. That was just it. She was a scared child, she fought off the droid because she was scared, and she didn’t know she had usage of the Force, although her father clearly did, if his first instinct was to kill the Droids who saw her use her power. Why was he so afraid for them to see her, she was desperate to know, if the Jedi, at the time, were good people? He must have kept her from being a Jedi, she had to assume, and her parents had kept her in the dark until the last possible second. They fanned one of the worst possible fate for them and their family by keeping Vena’s abilities a secret. </p><p>Ahsoka set her hands back in her lap. She felt Vena’s sorrow and she understood it, on some level, which she tried to show and convey to Vena through their shortly formed connection in the Force. </p><p>“Your father probably was approached by a Jedi to take you. My own parents were apprehensive. Togruta’s are a people that are meant to stay together. You know that.”</p><p>Vena did. She could understand why her parents would have denied the Jedi to take her. She had a duty as the oldest child, to care for her younger two siblings, to help them farm and uphold the house. She had a moral obligation and expectation to stay for her entire life, to stay family driven and, quite frankly, around. </p><p>But what did it do? He condemned her to a life of loneliness. He kept her in the dark about her powers for the majority of her life. He chose to ward off her chance as Jedi, selfishly, and for her, instead of leaving the choice to her when she grew older. </p><p>Vena couldn’t help but think if she had left for the Jedi, they would have survived. She could have helped free their people from Zygerrian slavers. She could have—</p><p>Ahsoka interrupted her scenarios. "It may not seem like it, Vena, but you are lucky to have been kept in secrecy by your father. It is up to you to decide if you forgive him for hiding your powers from you, and sending the Jedi away. But, you must remember how history played out after the Clone Wars ended. Worse could have happened to you if you joined the Order, or if your father hadn't protected you like he had."</p><p>Vena was genuinely clueless. "Like what?" she whispered. </p><p>"The reason you haven't met another Jedi is because they were all killed," admitted Ahsoka, and even the Mandalorian tensed as he held Vena, also unaware of that truth. “After the Clone Wars ended, the Jedi were killed. It was said to be treason. And same fate would have happened to you, if you had been found out."</p><p>All Vena could do was stay silent. The numerous paths laid in front of her as a Force-Sensitive child had been unknown to her and with or without her interference, her destiny on either side was tainted. Her father kept her from the Temple and the Jedi, but she avoided the genocide of the Jedi. She was captured by slavers and was likely the last surviving member of her family. She could have died if she was a Jedi, she could have lived the life of one of she did.</p><p>But she had her life. She was living the best case scenario for what her life gave her. Her life, as a slave, as a whore, as a caretaker to a little green child, was the best case of a Force-Sensitive being after the Clone Wars and after the Empire. Vena, in short, despite her hardships and trauma, was lucky to have lived so long. </p><p>"The Force has ways of bringing people together," said Ahsoka, as she sensed Vena starting to pull her thoughts and emotions back to a place of peace. “It is why we are here together, now. It's why you took the path you have and found yourself here, with Grogu and with the Mandalorian."</p><p>Vena barely registed her other words. "'Grogu'?" She and the Mandalorian repeated together, and the little breath of recognition from the Child as he turned his head to them solidifed an answer for them. </p><p>"Baby has a name?" asked Vena incredulously. She turned to the Child, wanting to cry all over again, but that time, out of joy. “You have a name, Baby!”</p><p>"Grogu?" repeated the Mandalorian, and again, the same sound of recognition exited the Baby’s mouth. "Is he speaking? Do you understand him?" </p><p>"In a way. Grogu and I can feel each other's thoughts,” explained Ahsoka. "The same way you can, Vena, only we have a bit more practice than you do."</p><p>Vena nodded in understanding. She was rather new to the concept of using the Force beyond how sensitive and attuned she was to emotions. They had tried, in the past months, to speak through their connection in the Force, but Vena could never quite catch up or fully understand him like he could with her. Maybe now, with a Jedi to teach her, she would be able to understand him.</p><p>Suddenly, with her tears and the pit in her stomach fading, Vena realized the Mandalorian’s arms still around her. She cleared her throat and glanced up at the Mandalorian, forcing a thankful smile, which caused them both to soften their grip on one another and garner some distance between them. Though he still sat somewhat close to her, his hands retreated to his side, and, rather embarrassed, he was not looking in the direction of the Togruta women, nor the Child. He stared down at his feet.</p><p>Vena looked to Ahsoka, waiting for her to continue, but she faltered when Ahsoka was exposed for watching the entire interaction with an intrigued expression. Vena flinched, embarrassed, and lowered her head, too, both of them sitting together like scolded children.</p><p>Ahsoka decided to move the conversation along, much to everyone’s hopes. “Grogu was raised at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Many Masters trained him over the years. At the end of the Clone Wars, when the Empire rose to power, he was hidden. Someone took himfrom the Temple, and then his memory becomes...Dark. He seemed lost. Alone.”</p><p>The Child’s head sunk as Ahsoka translated his life story to his recent caretakers, and as they all looked to him for truth in his long, isolated history. Vena knew he felt their sorrow for him, as well as Vena’s relief that, at least, for a small while, he had experienced stability and people who loved him.  </p><p>Vena pushed her loving feelings out to him. When his ears turned in, bashful, thankful, she communicated silently to him that she was like him, too. For years and years, Vena had also been alone. And then, they found each other. </p><p>Ahsoka watched their subtle exchange curiously, unbeknownst to Vena. Before Vena could catch on, she continued in her guidance: "You can both use the Force,” she started to say.</p><p>"Their powers?" interrupted the Mandalorian. He cringed under the gazes of the others as he looked for clarification. He had been quite quiet since he joined the discussion, he admitted, but after spending almost a year with two Force-Sensitive beings, his curiosity was begging to be fulfilled. </p><p>Ahsoka nodded, after Vena signaled to her that it was okay to go on with the Mandalorian’s presence. "The Force is what gives them their powers. It is an energy field created by all living things. To wield it takes a great deal of training and discipline... But I have only known one other being like him,” admitted Ahsoka, her eyes falling to the Child. “A wise Jedi Master named Yoda." </p><p>"But I've never had training," Vena told her. "I never had a teacher, I didn't know the Force, I just... Used it. Felt it." </p><p>Ahsoka surveyed her for a moment, raising her chin. "Some people have different abilities than others. Different levels, as I am sure you have felt between Grogu and I and yourself. It is certainly not unattainable to use the Force ignorantly, but for great strength and care, it does take thought.”</p><p>Vena pondered her words. “Yeah,” she said quietly, trying to make a connection between her long life and Ahsoka’s sensemaking. “I’ve always been very attuned to other peoples feelings. It's like I can’t get it to stop, sometimes...”</p><p>As Ahsoka tried to help Vena try to understand her place in their world, the Jedi world, Vena started to understand it. She was Force-sensitive, yes, but not in the way Grogu or Ahsoka were. She was on a much easier plane, of feeling the energy between people, being able to manuever herself around it, and because she hadn't had discipline, a teacher, it could have been the reason why she had issue with the physical aspect of using the Force, unlike Grogu, and unlike Ahsoka. So much of it had to do with Vena’s lack of knowledge, as well as her lack of strength in the Force.</p><p>"That feeling inside of you. It’s caused you to have been careful, all of this time," Ahsoka praised. "But I felt you, earlier, as I feel you now, and it is something you and Grogu have in common--fear. So, Vena, what is it that you fear?"</p><p>Vena scoffed. "We'd be here for days if I went through my list."</p><p>Ahsoka smiled warmly. "You seem brave, Vena. Sure of yourself."</p><p>"Some of that might be a act. I don't know."</p><p>"Vena,” Ahsoka said softly, seriously.</p><p>"Okay," Vena agreed, seeing through her own act, too.</p><p>She took a breath. Though she didn’t necessarily know it, she had been waiting for the chance to be honest, for once, with someone. Not that the Mandalorian hadn’t drawn truth and release from her before, but not on the level she was able to release with Ahsoka. With a Jedi, with her new teacher. She had to start being honest with someone who needed to know her, to help.</p><p>"Recently, I've lost one of my montrals,” Vena started slowly. She barely noticed her hand reach to touch her left montral subconsciously. “I've been a bit fearful of being not as aware. Not being able to hear as well, feel, see, even.”</p><p>”Our montrals are important to what we’re able to do. To who we are,” said Ahsoka knowingly. “Losing one could be catastrophic.”</p><p>”It felt like it was,” Vena muttered.</p><p>”It wasn’t,” said the Mandalorian and Ahsoka at the same time. Ahsoka raised her brow, but nodded the Mandalorian along. <br/><br/>“You adjusted, Hal. Well. You didn’t mourn, you compensated. You went with it,” he reminded her shyly. “Like she always does,” he told Ahsoka. </p><p>Vena flushed. She offered a small smile to him. “Thanks,” she mumbled. </p><p>Ahsoka nodded. “Continue, Vena.”</p><p>“I fear the power inside of me sometimes. The way I feel so...scary to myself when I'm angry or when I'm scared or when someone threatens the two of them,” Vena admitted, looking to the Mandalorian beside her and the Child. As if her face wasn’t red already, it only deepened in the presence of her companions as she continued to be honest. “I've never, um, I've never felt the protective way I do about them. Ever. And I know that's what generates the physicality of the Force in me. I fear... Losing them. Being alone all over again. But I know that it has to happen."</p><p>"Does it?"</p><p>Vena looked up. "What?"</p><p>"You've lost a lot of people, Vena. Whether that is to death, or to the unknown, or by your choice to leave. And yet, you're still moving."</p><p>She nodded. "Well, yeah... I just...I have to keep going."</p><p>"Why?" pressed Ahsoka. </p><p>"I don't know,” said Vena. She didn’t really know, the longer Ahsoka let her sit in silence and think. “I just do."</p><p>Ahsoka said nothing to her former statement. Instead, she changed the subject completely. “Well, for one thing, I can sense you are resolved about the Child, Vena. The minute you were here, you were ready to let him go."</p><p>"Yeah, I mean, I've known from the start we were going to have to have him leave us,” agreed Vena. She reached and squeezed his little ear between her fingers, eliciting smiles from both of them. “Knowing doesn’t make it harder, though.”</p><p>"”Us.’"</p><p>Vena blinked. She didn’t bother to look at the Mandalorian, although Ahsoka did, trying to gauge his reaction, too.</p><p>“Yeah. We're a pair. Or, we aren't, but we've been traveling together. It's us,” Vena tried to defend lamely, as if Ahsoka pointing out her collective language was a bad thing, when it was truly just an observation. Vena huffed. "Maker, are all Jedi like this? What are you trying to figure out?"</p><p>"Why you fear what you do."</p><p>"Okay, then being alone. Leaving them. Because we have to go our separate ways."</p><p>"Do you?"</p><p>"Well, yes, I'm like you. I'm like the Baby—er, Grogu. I can use the Force. Doesn't that mean I have to do some training or take on some greater path?"</p><p>Ahsoka shrugged. "What does it mean to be a Jedi?"</p><p>Vena squinted. "Well, I don't know, that's why we came here."</p><p>Ahsoka laughed, but it was genuinely humorless. It was hopeless. Dry. And then, she admitted it: "I'm no longer a Jedi, Vena."</p><p>Vena’s face fell. "What?"</p><p>Ahsoka inhaled a breath, sensing Vena and the Mandalorian’s frustration, and the loss of hope that immediately drained from Vena’s sense of being. </p><p>"You may have been a great Jedi, Vena, I believe, but I am glad, and you should be, that you were not,” Ahsoka told her honestly. “The Force took you down a path you were meant to go, by not being a true Jedi, and it has brought me to believe that there is not much I can teach you that you haven't learned on your own through living life."</p><p>Again, all Vena could utter was: "What?"</p><p>"You came here seeking answers to what it means to be a Jedi. There is nothing more I can teach you that you haven't learned already. Kindness, compassion, protection. Truth. Nobility."</p><p>"But—" Vena tried.</p><p>Ahsoka interrupted her. "You find it easier to use the Force when you're angry, don't you?"</p><p>Vena’s brow came together. She stared at Ahsoka angrily, unsure of why or what her goals were in throwing Vena in so many directions over the past few minutes. She took a breath, still trying to learn from the not-Jedi, and answered her: "Yeah. It becomes natural at that point."</p><p>"That temptation is the Dark Side. Anger is quick to it. Anger can make you a powerful force in the Dark,” Ahsoka told her. She watched Vena curiously. “But even with all you've gone through, the tragedy, the death. The Dark Side hasn't consumed you. Why?"</p><p>Vena couldn’t hide her annoyance: “Don’t know.”</p><p>Ahsoka shook her head. "You do."</p><p>Vena let out an annoyed breath. For some reason, unknown to her, she continued to try to find answers for Ahsoka. They sat in silence for a short span of time, waiting patiently for Vena to review her life and the new knowledge she was gaining for a reasonable answer. She searched for a suitable answer, and one, apparently, Ahsoka already had an inkling to.</p><p>”In my youth, there was a woman,” Vena said softly. Her voice softened, and as did the irritation creating a headache for her. She closed her eyes, seeing the face of her love in her mind. “She helped me after I escaped the camp. She taught me about the Force, I think, but just didn't call it that. She said the same things you did. Something in the universe guides us, lies within us, moves us along our lives. And I believed in it. For so long, I had no hope, just an urge and a belief to stay alive because I wanted to live. And I have. The Force has guided me through tragedy and given me feelings and urges that have brought me to some of the best things in my life. It's like... the Force is just a guide, it's... it’s..."</p><p>"Hope,” finished Ahsoka. She smiled at Vena, proud, and the same energy radiated from her to Vena. "So long as you have hope, the Dark Side won't consume you. That's all the lesson I have, Vena. I can teach you no more."</p><p>Vena, with those last words, felt her world crumble. The last months had been all about her journey to become a Jedi, to find a Jedi, to live up to the name and find out more about what was inside of her. And they had done it, the hard part, finding a Jedi, and...Vena had nothing. She’d learned some terms, cleared the fog around her trauma, but it hadn’t changed anything. She was still just Vena.</p><p>She must have looked distraught. The Mandalorian reached to touch her hand, he said her name softly, but she remained still and staring blankly at Ahsoka. Nothing had changed.</p><p>Ahsoka sighed. “I am sorry I can’t give you what you wanted—“</p><p>"What are you, then?" interrupted Vena boldly.  "If you claim to not be a Jedi anymore, but you still use the Force, you still help people, what’s the difference? What are you?"</p><p>"Surviving,” said Ahsoka flatly, putting Vena back into her place with how cold her tone was. How tired. "The Jedi Order fell a long time ago, Vena.”</p><p>"So did the Empire, yet it still hunts him,” argued Vena. She gestured at the Child, but when she looked over at him, she faltered. His chin was at his chest, slumped over, sleeping softly, despite the argument that had been going on between the woman. Vena’s voice softened. “Ahsoka, he needs your help." </p><p>"Let him sleep," decided Ahsoka. She stood, taking her lantern with her as she stepped away from the trio who had found her. "I will test him in the morning."</p><p>Vena did nothing except watch her go. The Togruta woman disappeared into the woods, the soft hooting of an owl following closely behind her. Long after her figure disappeared into the night, Vena remained still. Frozen. Distraught, truthfully.</p><p>The Mandalorian moved around her. In the small clearing, he started their own small fire, in silence, though he kept checking back over to Vena.</p><p>Each time he looked, she hadn't moved. She sat on her knees, her shoulders far forward, her hands frail in her lap. Her face still and flat. Her jaw clenched. He watched her breathing, uneven and trying desperately hard to remain from releasing the emotions she’d built up the longer she sat there drowning in her thoughts. </p><p>Vena couldn’t quite escape the thought that nothing changed by finding a Jedi. She was exactly where she’d been all her life: a strangely attuned empath, alone, and going nowhere. Like Ahsoka said, surviving. <br/>All Ahsoka had done was told her a brief history and named the power inside of her, but it didn’t help Vena understand it anymore. Such was the life she was condemned to, now, with some descriptive words to describe the power, and nothing else.</p><p>So she was Force-Sensitive. She could use the Force, she felt a deeper connection emotionally through the Force than physically. But she could do nothing else with her power. She couldn't have a teacher, or hold whatever weapon Ahsoka had, or find the physicality of the Force the way Grogu and Ahsoka had. because she was too far gone from needing a teacher. Such was the life her family condemned her to. Stuck.</p><p>The logical explanation was that her parents sent away the Jedi. They kept her powers from her. They saved her, she supposed, but she hadn’t saved them, in return. She couldn’t help but feel at fault for their fates, wherever they were. Her father tried to save her from being separated from her family, she was sure of it, it must have been the only reason. But it did nothing. She was still alone in the world, she was still in danger. His sacrifice was for nothing.</p><p>She almost wished she hadn’t known. No, she did. She wished she didn’t know the truth behind what happened to her that day, she wished she hadn’t met Ahsoka, and spent the rest of her life in the dark about the Jedi and the Force, she wished she hadn’t met—no. No, she didn’t. She didn’t.</p><p>He chose then to speak to her. He was sitting, finished with the fire and with putting the Child to sleep, and chose to sit beside her, but far enough from her that she didn’t feel overwhelmed. He only said her name. Her real name. </p><p>She took a breath. “I just have nothing to say.”</p><p>"That's alright," he said. "Don’t expect you to. Don’t expect you to talk about it, either. Just wanted to see if you needed anything from me.” </p><p>Vena forgot everything when he offered his aid to her. She pointedly looked from him to the spot beside her. He silently sat next to her. She let her legs extend, grabbing his hand, and putting her head on his shoulder. She turned her head into him as she closed her eyes, tears starting to fall, and they just sat together for the rest of the night, his thumb rubbing her hand as she cried herself to sleep against his shoulder, slowly inching into his arms and laying down together, as close as could be.</p><p>•</p><p>Vena really did not feel any better the morning after. She woke up in the Mandalorian’s arms, which was certainly something of comfort, but as she woke to the sun in her eyes, her first thought was the denial of the night before and the hard truths she had to learn. She untangled herself from the Mandalorian and laid on her back, throwing an arm over her eyes in protest of the sun and of a new day.</p><p>The Mandalorian turned his helmet to her. “You alright, Hal?” he mumbled, knowing she was not, but wanting to ask anyway.</p><p>Vena inhaled a deep sigh and held it, before releasing it, and the arm over her eyes. She turned her head to his visor, forcing a tiny, albeit pained smile for him. “I will be.” </p><p>He reached for her hand. “You will,” he confirmed. </p><p>Ahsoka reached them before they could think about finding her. Her approaching warning in the Force woke the Child from his sleep, alerting both the Mandalorian and Vena to her incoming presence. They had the Child up and ready by the time she came across their makeshift camp.</p><p>”Morning,” she greeted warmly. She barely spent time speaking to Vena and the Mandalorian, instead, she took the Child from the ground and began to walk away from them. “Lets see what knowledge is lurking inside that little mind.”</p><p>Ahsoka found an open clearing. She set the Child down on a boulder, asking him to sit there patiently, before she backed up some distance and waved Vena and the Mandalorian to stand beside her.</p><p>Ahsoka lifted a rock from the ground in front of her foot and into her hand. She held it up for the Child to see clearly, then she turned it over in the air and gently sent it through the air to him using the Force. The Child tracked the rocks slow movement and allowed it to rest in his opened hands when Ahsoka pushed it there. </p><p>"Now, return the stone to me, Grogu," she said. </p><p>Though he heard her, he didn’t react. He cooed and inspected the rock in his hands, his head tilted down at it. </p><p>“He doesn’t understand,” defended the Mandalorian.”</p><p>"He does,” agreed Vena and Ahsoka together. Vena continued, “He’s just a selective listener.”</p><p>The Child whined in protest.</p><p>Vena raised her brow. “Proving my point, there, kid.”</p><p>"It’s okay,” promised Ahsoka, raising her hand to hush Vena and the Mandalorian. She brought the Child’s eyes back to her own, reminding him to focus. "The stone, Grogu."</p><p>The Mandalorian nodded his head encouragingly. </p><p>But Grogu dropped the stone from his hands, seemingly, without even trying to move it with the Force. </p><p>The Mandalorian sighed. Vena looked over at him, expectantly, warning him to keep it together. It wasn’t the Child he was frustrated with, it was the situation; the Child having to prove his abilities that he had so freely used in front of them. He wanted Grogu to succeed. He wanted him to have a teacher and to be accepted by a Jedi, for he had a longer way to learn with the Force than Vena did, and it was their job to seek that out for him. If Ahsoka denied Grogu, too...</p><p>”We’ll get there when we get there,” muttered Vena. “Stop thinking so loud.”</p><p>Under his helmet, he flushed. “I didn’t mean...”</p><p>Vena turned away from him. He sighed again. </p><p>Ahsoka was kneeling in front of Grogu by the time they returned to paying attention. His small fingers were in the palm of her hand. They were speaking again. </p><p>“He’s hidden his abilities to survive over the years,” Ahsoka told them. She smiled warmly at the Child before she left him, again, and returned to Vena and the Mandalorian’s side. “Let’s try something else. Come here.”</p><p>"He’s stubborn,” warned the Mandalorian. </p><p>"Not him,” said Ahsoka. “You. I want to see if he’ll listen to you."</p><p>The Mandalorian stepped in front of Vena to stand beside Ahsoka. They stood closer to the Child than she did, blocking her from his view almost completely. Vena stayed outside of his view, hoping, perhaps, it would help. </p><p>"That would be a first,” admitted the Mandalorian. "You outta try Hal instead of me."</p><p>”I rather like firsts. Good or bad, they’re always memorable,” challenged Ahsoka teasingly. She passed the stone into his hand. “I know he’ll give it to Vena. It’s you I want to see. Now, hold the stone out in the palm of your hand. Tell him to lift it up."</p><p>The Mandalorian did as she asked. “Alright, Kid. Lift the stone."</p><p>His head tilted curiously. </p><p>Ahsoka leaned into the Mandalorian. "Grogu,” she reminded him, whispering in his ear, before she retreated and gave him and the Child some space. </p><p>"Grogu," said the Mandalorian pointedly, and that noise of recognition hit their ears again. "Come on. Take the stone.”</p><p>Grogu continued to stare. He was certainly more response than he had been with Ahsoka. His ears turned in and out, his eyes stayed pointed on the Mandalorian. But he didn’t move the stone for him.</p><p>“See? Told you he’s stubborn,” sighed the Mandalorian, embarrassed. </p><p>“He gets it from you,” said Vena. Before he could retort back to her, she offered advice: “Try to connect with him, Mando. Like I do.”</p><p>The Mandalorian paused. He reached into his pocket and retrieved the metal sphere that the Child consistently took from the dashboard of the Razor Crest. He held it clearly in front of him, between two fingers, and the Child cooed and squealed with delight after having seen the ball he was so intrigued by.  </p><p>“Grogu, do you want this? Go ahead. Take it, Kid. You can have it,” encouraged the Mandalorian softly.</p><p>The Child’s hand extended out, his wrinkled forehead creasing even more with concentration, and then he ripped it from between the Mandalorian’s fingers and into his hand.</p><p>"Good job! Good job, Kid!" exclaimed the Mandalorian. He hustled forward and kneeled beside the Child, beaming. "That’s right. very good. I knew you could do it."</p><p>Ahsoka and Vena shared a look. Ahsoka, intrigued and amused by the expression of the formerly stoic Mandalorian, and Vena, not so surprised at all. </p><p>"Bit of a softie," stumbled Vena. </p><p>Ahsoka spoke up for both of them to hear her. “He’s formed a strong attachment to you. To both of you,” she praised. “But I cannot train him.” </p><p>Their heads snapped to the former Jedi. “What?” seethed Vena. She’d had enough. She’d had more than enough.</p><p>Ahsoka remained calm. “His attachment to you makes him vulnerable to his fears, his anger.” </p><p>"All the more reason to train him," snapped the Mandalorian. "Vena didn't have a teacher and you said the same attributes were inside of her."</p><p>"Vena is not near the same level of power as Grogu," said Ahsoka, and her eyes didn't even bother to look at the woman as she spoke. "I've seen what such feelings can do to a fully trained Jedi Knight. To the best of us. I will not start this child down that path. Better to let his abilities fade."</p><p>"'Fade'?" repeated Vena incredulously. </p><p>"As they have in you," agreed Ahsoka. "Just like with anything. The more you use it..." </p><p>"I could've been..." she muttered, looking over at the Mandalorian. She was thrown into the deep end, again, finding out that she could have had power, even without training. She could have been doing more, she could have helped more people, if she had known earlier, if her parents had told her, if she knew earlier. but she hadn’t been told. <br/><br/></p><p>That was another, unspoken reason Ahsoka would not take her. There was no hope to become stronger in her abilities. Vena’s powers were stagnant. They would not grow with training. What she had was just it, for the rest of her life.</p><p>In other words, again, Vena came to realize that uprooting her life to find a Jedi was for nothing. For herself, anyway. But the Child was still that—a child. </p><p>"Well, I won't let him find himself on the same path I did," Vena interjected, fuming. "He doesn't deserve to not know about what he can do, or his powers to fade because someone won't teach him. I will. I'll teach him."</p><p>"You already have taught all you know," said Ahsoka, seemingly already guessing Vena’s attempt to teach the Child. "He seeks peace quite freely. Easily. It's because of you, Vena, and your medidating with him that he can find his way back to center simply."</p><p>Vena looked at Grogu, who was already looking up at her, trying to calm her. She supposed Ahsoka wasn't wrong; they had been teaching each other, a little bit, through their medidations and Grogu’s bond with her, trying to speak with her, though she had a hard time understanding. He tried to teach her, too, to help her lift physical objects, with nothing more than babble. They had formed a bond, perhaps, deeper than friends. She was his teacher, as much as he was hers. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t do more.</p><p>"I won't leave a child defenseless against the remnants of the Empire. Or in general," said Vena. She returned her gaze back to Ahsoka. "I won't let him take the path that was forced upon me if I can do something about it. But you would rather let the Jedi die? With you? Than teach a new generation?"</p><p>Ahsoka neglected to answer. She forced a smile to Vena and the Mandalorian, bowing slightly as a farewell. “I’ve delayed too long. I must get back to the village."</p><p>The Mandalorian admitted it, at last: “The Magistrate sent us to kill you.”</p><p>Defensively, Ahsoka turned her head back to the pair.</p><p>"We didn’t agree to anything. And we’ll help you with your problem,” he bargained. “If you see to it that Grogu is properly trained."</p><p>Ahsoka turned. She nodded once, agreeing to the bargain. Though it wasn’t for certain, it was something on its way to being concrete, and in that, Vena and the Mandalorian put their hope for the Child.</p><p>"She has a small army of guards with A350 blaster rifles, two HK-87 assassin droids, and a hired gunfighter. He reads ex-military to me,” remembered the Mandalorian. As usual, when he debriefed, his hands fell to his waistband, commanding the attention and the ears of those he spoke to. "Combined, not even your laser swords would be able to protect you from all that firepower."</p><p>Ahsoka’s amusement relayed on her face. “True.”</p><p>"What are they called, anyway?" asked Vena, pretending she wasn’t all that interested, and pretending like Ahsoka couldn’t absolutely tell.</p><p>"Lightsabers." said Ahsoka fleetingly. "But don’t underestimate the Magistrate either. "</p><p>"Who is she?" asked the Mandalorian. "She offered me a staff of pure Beskar to kill you."</p><p>"Morgan Elsbeth," recalled Ahsoka. "During the Clone Wars, her people were massacred. She survived and let her anger fuel an industry which helped build the Imperial Starfleet. She plundered worlds, destroying them in the process."</p><p>The Mandalorian scoffed, glancing around them at the barren forest. "Yeah, it looks like she's still in business."</p><p>"When you were in the city, did you see any prisoners?" asked Ahsoka.</p><p>"Three," said Vena.</p><p>"Strung up just outside the inner gate,” supplemented the Mandalorian. “Hal destroyed their electrocution system before we left.</p><p>”Hopefully bought them some time,” muttered Vena. </p><p>Ahsoka agreed. "We have to free them."</p><p>"A Mandalorian and a Jedi?” asked the Mandalorian. “They'll never see it coming."</p><p>•</p><p>With the Child locked safely in the Razor Crest, Ahsoka, Vena, and the Mandalorian began the trek back to the town. As the sun started to set and darkness, as well as the fog, started to cover the land, the plan was devised and set. </p><p>Ahsoka sensed the proximity of the town before Vena had a chance to. She turned, choosing to remain silent, and held her hand out to the Mandalorian. </p><p>The Mandalorian pulled the shoulder guard from his armor, running his thumb briskly across the signet, before he handed it to Ahsoka. She nodded with gratitude, sliding it under her cloak, and then she sprinted into the fog and towards the town. </p><p>Some distance away from the gate, too far to see, but close enough for Vena to sense and to hear, Vena and the Mandalorian stayed behind as Ahsoka continued on. They stood close together, though they certainly didn't have to, waiting, for the signal to join the fight in the secrecy necessary to save the townsfolk. </p><p>She hadn't spoken much the entire time they were in the presence of Ahsoka, which had been most of the day. The Mandalorian didn't blame her. Not only did she assume she had nothing left to say, she was simultaneously grieving the loss of her family all over again, as well as the hope for a new start in her life. He figured she was feeling hopeless. Lost, incredibly disappointed, hurt--</p><p>"I don't feel great, you're right," mumbled Vena, and it spooked the Mandalorian from his thoughts. She glanced up at him, amused, before she turned her head back to the direction of the town. "You really need to start hiding your thoughts and feelings better. You used to be much better at it."</p><p>"I didn't know you like I do now," he admitted. "I don't worry as much about you knowing how I feel."</p><p>Vena understood. With the time they had spent together, and the intensity of almost dying nearly every week, their relationship had certainly progressed quickly. They had gotten comfortable with one another quick. Safe. As Vena started to feel physically safe by his side, he felt emotionally safe with her. </p><p>"You don't have to worry about me, Din," she whispered. </p><p>She turned her back on the town momentarily to rest her hand on his helmet, before she wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him in for a hug. He wrapped his arms around her in return, quickly, before she could leave his embrace. He tried to hug her with enough comfort and calmness that would help her find peace, for the short time she was in his arms. Vena stayed there, in his arms. </p><p>"I'll be alright," she told him. She closed her eyes against his chest. "Somehow, nothing has changed, but everything has at the same time... And I...Just don't know what to do. We'll save this town. We'll give the Kid up. But then?" she sighed desperately. She lifted her head from his chest briefly, before she closed her eyes again and laid her head back down. "I don't know."</p><p>"You don't have to know, Hal," he promised her. He rested his helmet on the top of her head, keeping her there, before she could fidget some more. He could feel the rapid thumping of her heart through his armor almost, her anxiety rising as they spoke about the situation, and he hoped to help calm her. </p><p>Vena understood what he meant. "I don't want to be a burden, Din, I--"</p><p>"You have never been," he interrupted her. "I don't know what I'm going to do either, Hala. I haven't known."</p><p>She seemed a little shocked. She was, solely due to the fact that it was then she realized she never truly thought about or asked what he would do when he didn't have them anymore. Regrettably and selfishly, beyond the fact that he would be alone and saddened by the fact, she hadn't bothered to ask him what he planned to do when he was by his lonesome again. </p><p>"You won't go back to Bounty Hunting?"</p><p>He sighed. "Part of me thinks I've found something worth stopping for."</p><p>"What about the credits, though?"</p><p>"Hala," he scolded, and she couldn't' help but laugh. Underneath his helmet, he smiled. It was nice to hear her laugh. Though it hadn't been long since he had, he found it almost as soothing as she did to find her sorrows washed away enough for a few seconds of laughter. He held her a little tighter. </p><p>She had him. Despite everything else changing, and it returning to the stagnant state of being that her life had been for the rest of her thirty-something years in the galaxy, the Mandalorian's care for her had been persistent. He had been there. Their disagreements and their banter forgotten, with the truth known between the both of them, and their futures clouded, Vena thought, for once, that their possibility together could finally be thought about seriously. </p><p>"You don't have to know what you're going to do. I won't ask. But when you know, you tell me, and I'll do my best to make it happen," he told her softly. </p><p>Vena closed her eyes a little harder. She felt it inside of her, now releasing, now that she had no reason to leave him--that same care he had for her, finally being validated. </p><p>"Until then," he continued. "I suppose I won't leave you on Corvus, so you can continue to travel with me."</p><p>"Oh, well thanks," she muttered, rolling her eyes. She leaned away from him, their arms still around each other, but her eyes smiling into his visor. "I guess you're stuck with me, then, dear Mandalorian."</p><p>"Just for the unforeseeable future," he stated. </p><p>Her laugh rang in his ears like a lovely melody. "Yes," she agreed, grinning up at him. "For the unforeseeable future."</p><p>Their calmed attitude sank when the alarm sounding hit Vena's montral, and then the Mandalorian's ears. He gripped her tighter, his fist curling to ignite his jetpack and hurry to Ahsoka's aid, but Vena stopped him, holding him in place. She turned her montral to the town, closing her eyes, and he fell silent, too, watching the concentration in her face as she listened and focused for the right moment to enter the town undetected. </p><p>Vena listened to the thuds of bodies hitting the pavement, the hum of Ahsoka's lightsabers, and then, the whispers of conversation between Ahsoka and the Magistrate. She felt the irritation of the Magistrate, Ahsoka's determination, the townspeople's overwhelming fear for their safety, but she disregarded it, drawing her empath abilties to a momentary close as she focused mostly on listening, on the Force, to tell her in tandem with her montral when to go. </p><p>
  <em>"Kill her."</em>
</p><p>Vena's eyes shot open.</p><p>"Now," she said swiftly, and the Mandalorian grabbed her by the waist and shot off into the sky.</p><p>They dropped into the town at the gates of the Magistrate's Temple. Vena shuffled herself away from the Mandalorian, giving him ample time to draw his blaster quickly and take out two of the guards who noticed then, while she threw her hand forward and ripped a guard away from the electrical range of the prisoners' contraptions. She kicked her foot into his stomach, knocking the guard to the ground, then knocked her boot into his helmet, rendering him unconscious. </p><p>While the Mandalorian finished the other guards, who ran to the rescue, Vena grabbed her blaster and shot the electrical box. The prisoners gasped with relief, and she went to work immediately, having to stand on her tip-toes to reach the release of the prisoners' individual rigs. As she helped the first man down, holding almost all of his weight on her, Vena noticed the man from the following day helping, too. She smiled gently at him, he nodded, and motioned for her to follow with the man beside her. </p><p>The Mandalorian, Vena, and the man ushered and aided the prisoners into a nearby building, where cowering civilians had fled into when the fighting started. Vena had to keep softly shushing them, quieting them, when they kept asking questions about the aiding duo and the Jedi. </p><p>"Does it matter?" muttered the Mandalorian, and Vena glanced over at him, her eyes flashing widely to warn him. </p><p>"We're here to help," she covered for him, giving him a gentle nudge out of the door. She looked over the townsfolk, their wide eyes and reliance on the physical comfort of those around them. "You're safe now." </p><p>The Mandalorian grabbed her hand and pulled her from the building, closing the door behind her softly, without a noise. They returned to stand in front of the gate, with Vena tugging their conjoined hands to a stop as she listened around them, through the gate, and a bit further to see the progress Ahsoka had made while they freed the prisoners. </p><p>Vena's eyes opened, landing on his visor. She turned her head to the skyline of the town, behind them, where Ahsoka appeared, and the Mandalorian turned his head to the road in front of them, where the Magistrate's Guard, Lang, stumbled across them in his stalking of Ahsoka. He was the only foe left. Him, and the Magistrate; it was clear how they would divide the remaining fights. Vena nodded to Ahsoka knowingly, and she disappeared from view with a smirk. </p><p>Lang sighed. His eyes fell from Ahsoka's fleeting figure to the Togruta and the Mandalorian, then their conjoined hands, which they dropped instantly. Lang smirked. </p><p>"Cute," he said sarcastically. "So you got a thing for Togruta's, huh, Mando?"</p><p>The Mandalorian growled lowly and put his hand on his blaster. </p><p>Lang raised his hand, one of which held his blaster in it. Chuckling, he said, "Alright. So you threw in with the Jedi."</p><p>"It looks that way," said the Mandalorian flatly.</p><p>An echoing clang snapped all three of them from the intensity of the Mandalorian and Lang's growing feud. Vena recognized it immediately, beyond the obvious notion of a fight: Beskar against lightsabers. </p><p>Lang hummed. "Who ya thinks gonna win? Could be your side. Could be my side." </p><p>Vena turned her head fully to him when she registered his boots against the gravel, stepping forward. Lang maintained eye contact with the Mandalorian as he took slow steps forward, his blaster loose in his hand, but not loose enough to forget about. The Mandalorian kept his hand over his blaster. </p><p>"I got no quarrel with you, Mandalorian."</p><p>The Mandalorian raised his hand. "That's far enough."</p><p>Lang stopped. "You and I were a lot alike. Willing to lay our lives down for the right cause," he tried to tell him. He shrugged. "Which this is not."</p><p>Vena squinted as she watched him hold his blaster with both of his hands. He lowered himself down to the ground, feigning like he was going to surrender his blaster, but Vena nor the Mandalorian bought it. They waited patiently and amused, almost, as Lang tried to pull a fast one on them. The Mandalorian shot Lang dead before he could pull the other blaster from the back of his waistband. </p><p>The Mandalorian rested his blaster back into its holster, his helmet turning to Vena. "What, no heads up this time?"</p><p>"I believed in you," said Vena, waving her hand at him. She took her own blaster and turned, firing one shot, without looking, at the assassin droid peaking over the rooftops at them.<br/>"And I was more focused on the droid."</p><p>"Ahsoka?" asked the Mandalorian, when he noticed the silence of the town. He turned quickly to the gate, in case Vena's answer was less than satisfactory, but she shook her head, waving her hand at him. </p><p>"She'll join us soon," said Vena. </p><p>Vena hustled up the low stairs of the building the townsfolk were in. She knocked gently, then encouraged them to exit, hoping her voice was recognizable to them. The man from before creaked open the door, his hopeful heart reaching to her. She smiled. </p><p>"Your town is yours again," she promised. </p><p>She and the Mandalorian moved out of the way while the townspeople cried and cheered for the return of their regular and safe lives. Excited chatter diffused through the town. People ran up and down the streets, knocking on buildings, warning that the Magistrate's rule was over. Life was returning to the streets and to the town with mere minutes of the information being spread. </p><p>Vena's heart was full. The grin stretched across her face as she was packed with relief and gratitude from every one of the townspeople, despite them not knowing who saved them--just the fact that they were free. She didn't care, and she knew the Mandalorian wouldn't either. They didn't do it for fame. They did it because it was right. </p><p>She turned to him, blushing profusely when she saw he was already looking down at her. She nudged her arm into his. "Lang was wrong. You're nothing like him."</p><p>She felt his smile through his helmet. "Thanks, Hal."</p><p>Ahsoka joined them at the front gate of the town. In her hand, the Beskar spear. She planted it in front of the Mandalorian proudly. "I believe this was your payment," she reminded him. </p><p>"No, I can't accept. I didn't finish the job," he told her earnestly. </p><p>"No," she agreed with an amused smile, appreciating his character above all else. "But this belongs with a Mandalorian."</p><p>Again, she presented the spear to him, one end planted on the ground, and finally, the Mandalorian wrapped his hand around it, too, surveying the new weapon. Between both Togruta's, his gratitude was received. </p><p>Ahsoka's eyes fell to Vena. Knowingly, if nothing else. Without saying anything at all, or even presenting her thoughts or feelings, Vena knew. They had saved the town. Now, it was time to return to their pressing matter: the Child. </p><p>"Would you mind waiting here?" asked Vena. </p><p>The Mandalorian turned to her, confused, but with their solemn looks, understood. </p><p>"We'll go get him," Vena offered lamely. </p><p>Ahsoka didn't waste time agreeing, nor hiding her suspicion that Vena tried to buy them time to say goodbye. The Jedi was not ignorant to their grief over losing the Child. In fact, Vena felt some semblance of envy from Ahsoka as she allowed them to say goodbye to the Child. The chance to say goodbye was not promised, Vena knew, as most did, and she and the Mandalorian deserved such a fate with their Child. </p><p>The walk back to the Razor Crest was quiet. There were no words, really. At some point in their walk, their hands bumped together, and they held onto one another for strength. As usual, when they were alone, the Mandalorian bothered absolutely none to hide his feelings from her. Not only was Vena trying to mask her sorrow, but she tried to mask the Mandalorian's from the Child, too, as they approached the Crest. </p><p>Enough was going on, she decided for the three of them, and the Child did not need to feel their parting emotions and connotate the situation as a poor one. Such was a happy moment. The Mandalorian completed his mission of returning the Child to his people, the Child would return to the care and teachings of a Jedi, and most of all, he would be safe. </p><p>The Mandalorian released her hand. She glanced up, noticing the Crest, and did a poor job of hiding her sigh. He looked over at her knowingly. They had purposely walked slow, and yet, there the Crest was, as if no time passed at all. </p><p>The Child was sleeping in their bed, on his back, asleep in the middle of the bed, even though Vena and the Mandalorian were not there with him. His little mouth was open, his two front teeth showing, and as they approached, they could hear him snoring softly. </p><p>The Mandalorian reached forward and scooped him gently into his arms, cradling him, before he sat down on the bed and Vena scooted in beside him. He awoke to the helmet and the face of his caretakers. Despite Vena masking their emotions from him, he seemed to know it was time, too, and he fussed until he was in the Mandalorian's arms cozily, and holding Vena's fingers with his hands on his stomach. Vena rested her head on the Mandalorian's shoulder for no longer than a moment before his helmet tilted to her head, too. </p><p>No words were uttered, and maybe that was just because there was nothing to say that would make the situation better for anyone. They had succeed in their mission, but they lost the Child in the process, regardless of if he was going off for better and greater things than themselves. They were proud and relieved to have him be in the safety of someone far more skilled than themselves, but the chances were, they would never see him again. Or, he wouldn't remember them. The reality was they would remember him more fondly and vividly than he ever could. So for all intents and purposes, this was probably the end. </p><p>They only meant to sit together for a short time. But time kept passing, and the Mandalorian didn't move, so Vena didn't move, and neither did the Child. It was as if time had carved a space for them to remain, comforted and homely and grateful, together, and no one dared to move if it meant time would continue. </p><p>But it did. Vena perked up when she felt footsteps approaching them slowly. She softened, then turned back to her boys. She didn't say anything except offer them a sad smile. </p><p>It was time. </p><p>Vena took the Child from the Mandalorian when he held him out. She held him closer, higher up on her chest, and he snuggled into the crook of her neck while she bent her head into him. He hugged her almost tighter than she was trying to hug him. She spoke to him, or what she could, through their connection in the Force.   </p><p>
  <em>Everything will be alright. Mando and I were lucky to have you in our lives, Little One. We will miss you dearly, but you will do great things in this universe, and we know it. You just have to know you will, Grogu. </em>
</p><p>Vena lifted her head from his when they walked down the ramp, from the Razor Crest and back to the forest floor of Corvus, where Ahsoka stood patiently waiting for them to approach her. Immediately, Vena knew her choice had been made, as well as what it consisted of, and her eyes stayed glued to the woman in shock, despite Ahsoka not paying her any attention. </p><p>"You are like a father to him," Ahsoka described to the Mandalorian. "A mother," she continued, but didn't look to Vena. "I cannot train him."</p><p>The Mandalorian froze. "You made me a promise," he insisted lamely, not understanding in any sense. "I held up my end of the promise, we both did."</p><p>Ahsoka didn't react to his confusion. She approached Vena and the Child, who loosened his grip when he sensed Ahsoka near him. She held her hand by his, smiling when he grabbed it. Between the two of them, relief was present. Ahsoka didn't want a Padawan; she had other pressing matters to attend to, and the refusal to become a Master and continue the Jedi. Grogu wanted the Mandalorian and Vena together; he had no desire to leave them and train, with or without them. </p><p>Vena felt his truth clear as day and turned to him, surprised. They hadn't truly taken into consideration his feelings on the matter. Especially after he communicated so fluently and freely with Ahsoka, although Vena wasn't as well versed on the matter, she saw that until then, people had been making decisions for Grogu. Grogu hadn't made a choice himself. </p><p>In that, was the reason Vena could not fault Ahsoka for refusing him, or herself, as Padawan's. Though Vena chose the Jedi Path originally, it did not choose her in return. For Grogu, the Path had been thrust upon him, and he had not chosen it. Vena's chance was over, but it did not mean in any sense that Grogu's was. His was only beginning. </p><p>Vena turned her attention to the Mandalorian, nodding her head sympathetically. Trust me, she begged of him, with her eyes, and he did without another word. </p><p>"There is one possibility," Ahsoka continued, when Vena convinced the Mandalorian to listen. "Go to the planet Tython. You will find the ancient ruins of a temple that has a strong connection to the Force. Place Grogu on the seeing stone at the top of the mountain."</p><p>"Then what?"</p><p>"Then Grogu may choose his path. If he reaches out through the Force, there's a chance a Jedi may sense his presence and come searching for him," she divulged, but she voiced her doubt, too: "Then again, there aren't many Jedi left."</p><p>"We found you," said Vena softly, and hopefully, aiming to remind Ahsoka that she was not truly alone. Owing the woman an apology, Vena extended her hand to her. She took it graciously. "Thank you, Ahsoka."</p><p>Ahsoka nodded knowingly. "May the Force be with you."</p><p>With nothing else to discuss, and a new destination in tow, the Mandalorian nodded his head to Ahsoka and turned back to the Crest, lowering his hand on Vena's back to guide her into the Crest, too. He walked a little faster up the ramp, leaving Vena and the Child a moment to turn back to Ahsoka for a final goodbye. </p><p>Vena pretended she couldn't feel the Child's gratitude to Ahsoka, or her acceptance back to him. Ahsoka smiled, rather mischievously at Vena, causing them both to break out into chuckles, before Vena let the ramp close behind her. </p><p>Vena shook her head, crossing the bay and starting up the ladder. "That was your plan all along, hm? Did you tell Ahsoka the first night you wanted to choose your own path?"</p><p>Grogu giggled in response, neither confirming or denying it. </p><p>Vena passed Grogu up the ladder to the Mandalorian. He handed the Child back to her when she entered into the cockpit, where all three of them took their regular chairs. The Mandalorian didn't immediately fire up the Crest like usual. Instead, he sat, his hands hovering over the controls, paused momentarily. </p><p>Grogu looked up at Vena to see if she noticed. She had. </p><p>"Din?" she asked cautiously. </p><p>He relaxed. She caught the direction of his helmet, noticing he had been looking at their smiling selves through the reflection on the dashboard. He inhaled a breath, shrugging his shoulders lightly. </p><p>"I just...I didn't think I would leave Corvus with both of you," he admitted softly. "I thought I would be alone again."</p><p>Vena resisted every urge in her body to throw herself at him with a hug. Though he was often emotionally open to her, it was not often he verbally stated his feelings. It broke her heart to think about him consistently reliving the assumed reality of him leaving Corvus alone. </p><p> "Well, I am sorry to say you're stuck with us a little longer," Vena told him. </p><p>She let the Child off from her lap and he waddled to the Mandalorian's chair. He picked Grogu up and settled him in his lap, laughing softly when Grogu attached to his stomach in a hug. He patted the Child's back. </p><p>"I hope that's okay," she smiled at him. </p><p>"It is," said the Mandalorian instantly. He inhaled a sigh of relief. "It's good."</p>
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